The Blood Rose
by June.Herondale12902
Summary: Aria Bloodrose finds herself dragged to the Institute by Jace, Alec and Isabelle. Aria learns of the great mishaps of Jace's cloudy past and finds that his love, Clary Fairchild is dead. In her quest to fix Jace's broken heart, she finds that Clary may not be set completely at rest. Read as Aria and her friend Kelly are dragged into a whirlwind of trouble.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone. This is June here! I really hope you enjoy this story and please don't get upset about Clary! I have a plan for her, I promise. I don't own the Mortal Instruments. That honour belongs to Cassandra Clare. I wish I owned Jace...**

The moment the loud scream trilled through the air, she leapt out of her king sized bed. Inching towards her alarm clock on her bedside table, Aria gnawed on her lip. The time was a quarter past eleven and the night was blacker than her aura, darker than her soul. Another bloodcurdling scream split the air. Aria knelt to the ground, pulling out the darts from her dart board, under her bed. Her hands shaking, she tiptoed towards the door, making sure she didn't trip over anything and make any sudden noise. She combed back her silky hair, as her slightly trembling fingers closed around the cool metal door knob. Silently, she opened the door, careful not to make a sound, the darts pointing outwards towards any intruders that were in the house. "It's not our fault!", a familiar voice pleaded in another room. "Don't kill the children! They know nothing of Nephilim!" Her mother! Aria knew what she had to do without having to think about it, as if her natural instinct was more than just human. Aria opened the neighbouring door in the hallway, next to her bedroom, to reveal her quaking brother in the corner, darkness covering most of his features, but Aria could still tell that he was scared. Pressing a finger to her lips, a sign to stay quiet, she held out her hand. Her younger brother took it hesitantly, as if she was about to start screaming her head off. Aria crawled over to the toy box to pull out two baseball bats, as weapons, as Aria didn't like feeling defenceless. She handed it to Liam, and stroked his head. In one hand a bat, and her other, a group of darts. Aria felt like she could take on anything. Anything except what was in the room next door.

Swivelling her head to analyse her surroundings, she tugged her brother into the kitchen. Keeping the darts in front of her, she silently swiped some of the kitchen knives from the knife holder, tucking some into the elastic of her pants. Aria looked ridiculous, but she didn't care for the screams had continued. Handing her brother another knife, she put one of the bats on the bench, making sure her brother still had plenty to defend himself. All of a sudden, a gurgling scream rang through the air. It was coming from the living room, two rooms away. Not daring to leave her sibling alone, she beckoned Liam. Aria's ears pricked up at a slight, vicious hissing noise. Poking her head around the wall of the kitchen, her jaw dropped in shock. A large, violet, jelly-like creature towered over her mother, who was in fetal position. A weapon lay a bit more then an arms length away, a silver glow surrounding it. A flaming sword was in the monsters's grip as he waved it around tauntingly above her mother. She shrieked as the flames licked up her arm and dangerously near her face. As her mother looked up, she glanced at Aria and Liam, who were holding weapons in their hands. Thankfully, she didn't acknowledge them. Aria put up a hand to signal for her brother to stay put.

Liam nodded, his shoulders shaking so much that it looked like he was doing the shimmy. Aria took a bold step forward, but the creature didn't notice. "You see", the creature whispered, "you killed my children. Now I shall kill yours, Juno. You won't escape now, not ever again!" Aria didn't hesitate and raised her largest knife above her head and thrust it into the creature's gloopy back. A terrible whistling noise pierced her ears and made her eyes water. Still, she pushed the knife deeper, feeling something deep inside her driving her knife into the monster. The deeper she pushed it, the worse the whistling noise became. Soon it became so unbearable, Izel thought that she should get the hell out of there. Eventually, the monster exploded with a puff of lilac dust and with a sigh of relief, Aria fell to the floor. The lilac dust was everywhere, on the couch, table and T.V. Izel ran to her mother, who was lying on the floor unmoving, with her eyes closed and her arms resting out beside her, as if she was sleeping. Aria saw her brother's tears starting to fall when he approached their mother and her injuries, almost declaring death on her frail body.

Fearing for her mother, Aria called the ambulance but not the police, as she felt something within her telling her not to. Thinking about her mother brought her thoughts back to reality and she soon remembered her brother. She ran to Liam, hugging him as tight as she could. "Oh Liam, I'm so glad your ok." She hugged him as the tears fell onto his pyjamas. He looked so sad at that moment that it almost brought tears to Aria's own eyes. Almost. Realising that her little brother needed a drink, Aria drifted off into the kitchen, her mind on the monster. "What was that thing anyway? Where did it come for and why did it come for my mother? And what was she saying about Nephilim? I know they're half angel half human people but they don't exist, do they?" Aria muttered questions for ten minutes when she realised she was meant to be getting water for her brother. She rushed back to she if he was alright and if her mother had made any changes. As soon as she dropped down to the floor her brother enveloped Aria in another big bear hug. At that moment, three figures dressed in black barged through the slightly ajar door, there body laced with weapons and determination set on their faces.

 **Okay, now, that's one chapter. So I don't have much to say since nothing has really happened yet. I should call this chapter:- 'How to deal with a burglar.' Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi there readers! I'd like to thank you for the support I got on my first chapter and I hope this chapter is okay as well! I don't own The Mortal Instruments, just clearing that right up. Enjoy! xxxxx June**

Jace found two small children huddled around Juno Bloodrose. He glanced at Alec, his parabatai, who shrugged and knelt next to the older one of the two children. "Who are you and why did it attack my mother?" said the eldest. Isabelle, in shock from the low growling noise coming from the older child's throat, took a step back.

Jace quickly surveyed his surroundings. Purple dusted coated **the** grey carpet and the couches. The remains of a Provajab demon. "Who killed the Provajab?" Isabelle whispered, echoing Jace's thoughts. The older of the children looked up.

"I did. I killed that horrible monster or whatever it was." The girl looked about sixteen and her dark brown hair was swept onto her shoulders. A slightly wild sparkle inhabited her eyes. "And I asked you a question. Who are you and why did it attack my mother?"

Jace, feeling uncertain on how to answer the question, started answering, before Alec butted in.

"How," asked Alec, "Did you kill it? Are you even trained?" The girl stood up, brushing the dust of her pyjamas.

"No I sure as hell am not 'trained'. What the bloody hell are you talking about? I killed it with this," she yelled, waving around a knife with a black handle. "And most importantly, who are you and what just happened?" Isabelle put a hand on her hip.

"I like her," Isabelle announced matter-of-factly. The girl muttered something about everyone liking her.

"We'll explain at the Institute," Jace said dully finishing his answer. Alec began to pull up the boy when he slapped him away. The boy grasped his sister's hand insistently. "We're not going any where with you creeps." The girl stepped back and brought the knife back up, protecting her brother.

"It's ok, we're the ones that were trying to kill it, until you took care of that." Isabelle replied, in a tone that meant the two of them would definitely be best friends by the time everything was sorted out.

"Well, maybe I could come with you guys after the ambulance comes. It couldn't hurt, could it?" Aria hesitantly replied, lowering her weapon. Jace thought how wrong Aria was, and that if she came with them, she would be fighting for the rest of her life.

"Your names?" the girl asked as Isabelle and Alec picked up Mrs Bloodrose.

"I'm Jace Herondale, that's Alec and Isabelle Lightwood. And you are?"

"Aria Tereen. That's my brother Liam."

Jace frowned. Tereen? Not a Shadowhunter's name. It must be a cover up name, Jace thought. "No. You last name is Bloodrose. Not Tereen. That was a name to keep you hidden from who ever that demon worked for."

Aria raised her eyebrows but said nothing. This was probably not the weirdest thing that had happened to her. As the headlights of the car lit up her face, he saw how beautiful she was in the light. Her thick eyelashes batted over her deep brown eyes. Her hair held glints of red. Her lips were perfect and her brow was furrowed, deep in thought.

Her brother's skin was not as tanned as hers, but had the same eyes and his hair colour was a shade darker. Aria caught him staring and raised an eyebrow. Jace ignored the action and opened the car door. "My stuff!" she exclaimed. Jace promised they'd come back for it later. She shrugged and hugged her crying brother.

Later in the car, when Liam had fallen asleep on her lap, the blonde headed boy, Jace, started talking to her, to fill in the awkward silence. "Your mother is in another car with Alec and Isabelle." "Is your brother alright?" "We will be there soon". To each of them she nodded and never spoke. Until one question. "Where's your father?"

Aria looked up, her attention caught. "He is in hospital. He is getting a tooth removed." Jace considered that.

"You were awfully quiet this trip. You know, some Shadowhunter's can't catch Provajab Demons off guard. And you didn't panic. I'm guessing you have never been in that sort of situation before, but you dealt with it well."

"I have lots to think about." Aria explained. "And I know if I don't get an explanation, I'm going to get not a minute of sleep."

Jace stopped the car. "How old are you?" Jace asked. Aria grinned. "16."

Jace opened the door and hopped out. "The Institute." He said grandly. He paused. "Aren't you going to ask why I am taking you to a beaten up church?"

"No," Aria said slowly, "because it isn't a beaten up church. It's really nice. I'm just wondering if anyone comes to your lovely house on a Sunday morning looking for God but ends up finding you instead." Jace held out his arm for her to take it. Aria climbed out of the car, pulling a groggy Liam behind her. She gingerly took Jace's arm and he walked in.

"I'll take you to your rooms and then you can see your mum. And afterwards we'll explain everything."

 **Well there are the Shadowhunters! Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**hey guys, sorry I haven't posted in so long but I have had so much stuff to do between doing homework and studying for exams that I haven't had enough time to post. Remember to review and tell me what you think of the story! I don't own the mortal instruments or any of its characters.**

Jace directed her to a small corridor on the second floor. "You're brother can sleep in the same room as you," whispered Jace. Aria shook her head violently.

"Nuh uh. Not ever. I don't care how scared he is," insisted Aria. "He can take care of himself." Jace looked at her, slightly confused. She had looked past the glamour on the Institute with no effort, she had killed a demon with no training and her brother had just been glued to her like a leech. Yet, she hadn't burst into tears for her mother's injuries, and was now pushing away her young brother and acting only a little less stubborn than Jace on an average day.

"I can. I can." muttered Liam. Jace pointed out two rooms in front of them. "Settle, and then come down stairs." Jace moved off down the corridor.

Aria told her brother to wash his grubby face and meet her in the hallway. Aria grasped the wooden door knob and shoved the door open. As she stepped over the threshold, a web of surprise formed in her throat. The walls in the room had floral designs, and floorboards lined the floors. In the room was a bed with cream sheets, a bedside table and a dresser. Adjoining was a small bathroom with pale blue walls and white tiles. There was a sink with toothbrushes in packets, a toilet with the lid pulled down, and an open room shower. Aria caught her reflection in the mirror over the sink. Her eyes were lined with red, her hair was still neat and her mouth was pursed in a frown.

Aria threw water over her face and brushed her teeth. There wasn't time for a shower and there were no clothes to change into. Still, she was wearing fleecy pyjamas with sunglasses on them, and she grumbled at not having the foresight to bring a robe. Aria stalked out of her room until a glimmer of silver pierced her eye. There was a key on her table. She pulled a loose thread in her pants and looped it through the hole in the key. Then, Aria tied it around her neck, leaving a cold piece of metal banging against her chest. Walking out into the corridor, Liam glanced up at her. "Anne?" He asked. "Anne nerde dir?"

Aria walked down the spiralling staircase with Liam following her. Jace, Alec and Isabelle were sitting at the dining room table, talking with soft voices. "Bilemiyorum, canımın içi." she said, clearing her throat. "Onları sor."

"Jace, what language is that?" asked Isabelle desperately.

"I don't...I'm not sure but I think they are speaking Gibberish. But I don't know Gibberish very well. I think it was something along the lines of, 'I want to be itched. Ducks suck.' Alec looked at him skeptically. "Ok, fine. I don't know what she said." Liam, for the first time that evening, smiled. Aria's mouth didn't twitch.

She pulled up a seat next to Alec and waited expectantly. "Fine, I'll explain." Isabelle huffed. "We are Nephilim. That means..."

"You are half angel, half human, yes go on," interrupted Aria.

" We are Nephilim," Isabelle went on, "Also known as Shadowhunters. We hunt bad people, villians, kill demons and keep downworlders in check. Downworlders are vampires, warlocks, faeries and werewolves. We use Seraph blades and other special weapons to kill demons, and we believe what you used as a knife was a Seraph blade that had not been closed properly in disguise. Seraph blades usually require an angel's name to be opened. We were placed on Earth by Angel Raziel, though he is never the name of a Seraph blade. The reason you are involved in this is we think you are a Nephilim. We are not sure but we at least know your mother was a Nephilim. We haven't found records of your father, we don't know his mother is in a coma because she accidentally swallowed some Provajab Demon powder but once we call the Silent Brothers over, they'll fix her up in a jiffy. We think. And your actual name is Aria Bloodrose. Your mother left with you because of some mysterious circumstance. It was the biggest news anyone could talk about for months."

"You actually haven't been marked with a sight rune yet... oh right runes. Runes are like the..." Jace held up a hand for Isabelle to stop.

"Shadowhunters use runes," said Jace calmly. "Runes are drawn on us, like mundane tattoos. We use an apparatus called a stele. We use runes to help us, enhance our powers. Each rune has a different ability or power. The w... What are you doing?" Aria had taken a napkin and a pen and drawn a symbol. Alec and Isabelle looked at her, their mouths shaped in o's. "And that," said Jace surveying her drawing, "is a perfect Angelic rune. Where have you seen that?"

Aria glanced up. "I saw this on my mum's back last Friday. I wasn't sure if I had imagined it, because it shimmered." Liam was still soaking up what Isabelle had said. "And I think I've heard enough except I have one last question. If I did tell you my father's name, would it really benefit you? Or do you think my father's name is fake?"

Alec said slowly, "I think it would be helpful to just locate him with his fake name as that's what everyone probably knows him as."

"His name is Mehmet. His name at birth was Lawrence Mehmet Tereen, but his family changed it when he was young." Aria huffed. "And I'd like to go home in the morning to pack some belongings until my grandparents get back from overseas and they take us in." Isabelle looked at Jace with a knowing look.

Jace nodded slowly and turned around and out the corridor. Aria stood up with finality, and pulled up her brother. "Goodnight."

"But Anne." Liam insisted.

"Later!" she cried. As she walked up, she caught the glint of a piano and a library. The room was expansive, and she felt like running up to it and sleeping there. But her piano music was at home, and she was much too tired to read. Liam followed her eyes' direction.

"You want to play. Don't you?" asked her brother.

"Later," she whispered. "Later."

As she woke, a large beam of sunlight smothered her face. Aria groaned and reached for the watch beside her bed. Instead, she spotted a foreign clock on the wall. 9:00. School! She was so late for school! She bounded out of bed but stopped when her eyesight cleared. No! Reality crashed down on her. No! Anne! Baba! This was reality. This was not reality. This could not be reality. She made the bed and brushed her teeth. Aria combed her hair with a brush on the dresser and there was a small black hair tie on it too. Aria knew very well there was absolutely no way she could hold up her thick hair with one hair tie. She instead did a quick braid on her shoulder and left her room. Her brother was still sleeping and she was quite aware of the boy with the brilliant gold hair in front of her room.

In Jace's arms were folded clean clothes and runners. He smirked at her. "I can't help with your underwear, but we are heading out to your house after breakfast." If Aria could have blushed, now would have been the time, but instead she laughed.

"Thanks." And she took the clothes and closed the door. The clothes she had been handed were simple. She guessed they were Isabelle's old clothes. It was just a blue t-shirt, grey jumper with criss-crossing diamond patterns and leggings with a hole in the ankle. The runners were black and had only slightly worn treads. When she walked down for breakfast, Liam was sitting in front of the television set. Jace was making scrambled eggs and Alec and Isabelle were having an arm wrestling competition. Aria sat on the table across from Alec and started adjudicating their game.

"Miss Bloodrose, your breakfast is served. And this is not your ordinary batch of scrambled eggs. No, no, no. This is scrambled eggs made with a steady hand and a gorgeous grin. This is scrambled twice, no three times and applied with an extra coat of powdered awesome." Aria crossed her arms.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you but I only like scrambled eggs with a great big dash of awesomesauce." She started to protest when he was about to put bacon on her plate.. "I don't eat pig. And for future reference, I'm anaphylactic to nuts. As is my brother." Jace nodded and let her take her plate. She ate the eggs in about three seconds and thanked him.

"Oh yes. They were amazing weren't they Miss Bloodrose?" Jace asked.

"Oh no Mr Herondale. You must call me Her Majesty Aria Tereen Bloodrose." Jace nodded seriously.

"In case you were wondering, you are Nephilim. And you can see your mother in a week. Once she heals. The Silent Brothers won't let us near her."

When Alec and Isabelle finished, Jace announced they were leaving for Aria's house. Isabelle was about to equip herself when Jace shook her head and told her she had to stay home with Liam. Isabelle started to get angry. "Nuh uh uh. I'm coming. If Aria gets to go, I'm coming!" Eventually, Isabelle caved and stayed home.

 **Oh, and if you didn't already know, I share this account with my friend, who also writes TMI fan fiction so if you want to read it you can see on our profile, it's called The Daughter Of Angels. It would help her a lot. Thx! :-)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok guys, because it's the holidays I've got heaps of time to write so I'm just gonna write a heaps, upload a heap and repeat! I won't put authors notes up every time though, except I will put disclaimers at the bottom and a few notes for you guys. Ok, enough of me, ENJOY! ;-)**

As they arrived outside the house, Jace and Alec pulled out their weapons. Aria only stayed a safe distance behind them. They opened the door with a rune, the house smelt like paint and sugar. Residue from the Provajab demon lined the walls. "Where am I allowed to go?" asked Aria.

"Anywhere, as long as we come as well." said Alec. Aria nodded and ascended up the stairs. Jace followed closely behind. She seemed to be lost in thought and suddenly twisted towards a door on her left. When she opened it, she let out a large sigh. Her room was not filled with posters of boy bands and pictures as Jace had expected. Her bed had the Eiffel Tower printed on it in black and white. Her book shelves held a variety of novels. A white desk lay in the corner with a racing car chair. On the board behind her bed, there was Chinese calligraphy pinned up and pictures of Aria and her friends. In each picture, she looked happy and excited. Her youngest photos had her with a piece of bread in her hands as a toddler, another was a small passport photo in which she looked about 4. One picture had her friends kneeling in front of a movie poster, her hair slightly messier and cut straight. In one photo her hair was considerably shorter and she was cutting a ice cream with a Samurai sword, her face creasing with effort. On her left was her father, laughing hard. On her right was her brother. Another photo was her holding a wine glass next to a friend, still looking young, but much more pretty. Above the board was a canvas with the Eiffel Tower on it.

"So you like the Eiffel Tower?" asked Jace.

Alec coughed, "Understatement." Jace gazed at her closed off face, wondering what had made her seem so emotionless. Her brother didn't seem to react to her blankness and it seemed to be her norm. Aria went up to her closet which had a mirror on the front. When Alec turned his back, she made a face at him, in which Jace chuckled at. She pulled out a large duffel-suitcase and started shoving clothes into it. She walked up to her bedside table and opened a drawer, pulling out socks and underwear. Alec went a faint pink and averted his head. Aria caught the look of embarrassment and taunted him,

"Don't worry Alec. I don't have any Eiffel Tower underwear in here." Once Aria had packed her bag with clothes, she pushed way too many books into it, then her phone and iPad. They descended onto the first storey and she walked up to the piano and took two folders from the top. She put these in a back pack. She asked, "Could I get something from the bathroom sink?" Jace nodded and went with her. She pulled the doors open from the cabinet and took out a black tube and stuffed it in her pockets. Jace started to walk out, but Aria stopped him.

"Wait, my mum. Where is she right now?" Jace looked her in eye and felt guilty for letting her go through the torment of being lied to her entire life.

"Hospital. Well, the Shadowhunter's hospital." Aria frowned and pushed past him.

"Ok, we can go back to the Institute now."

When they pulled up in front of the Institute, Jace was the first to get out of the car. "Alec," Aria whispered. Alec looked at her surprised. "Who did he lose?" Alec's face paled.

"How did you know?"

"The look in his eyes. There is something missing, like he is incomplete."

"He lost Clary. She was young when she died. 16, it was last year. He loved her and she loved him. It was like fairytale love. They went through a lot. They saved the world together and at one point after they had fallen in love, they were tricked into thinking they were brother and sister. It was an accident. You see, she could create runes, but she made a really bad one and it killed her. It meant mirror revenge. I think it mirrored everything, good, bad , evil, she was responsible for killing. She died in Jace's arms, yelling. She was a really nice girl too. It was tragedy. I think **what** broke him most was when he kept telling her he loved her and she wouldn't say it back. He hasn't been himself. He used to be kinder and funnier, more sarcastic."

Alec helped by carrying Liam's clothes inside and up the stairs. When they had put all their belongings away into drawers, Aria showered and changed. She emerged in a leather jacket, black jeans, black converses and her hair was pulled up in a ponytail. In her hand, she grasped a folder and Isabelle's clothes. She stalked down the stairs when Isabelle stopped her. Isabelle took her clothes but gasped when she saw Aria's attire. "By the Angel, you clean up nicely." Isabelle eyed her folder. "What is in that?"

Aria shrugged and kept walking down the stairs into the library. Isabelle followed behind. There was a glistening grand piano in its centre and Aria sat on its stool. She rested her folder on the stand and flipped through some pieces. Finally, she stopped at one. The world started to slip away. Aria took a deep breath and let the music flow from her nimble fingers.

The music attracted everyone in the institute. Alec and Liam made their way into the room as well, but Jace stayed hidden in the shadows. His golden eyes kept watch of the way she tilted her head and concentrated on what she was playing. He caught sight of the leather jacket she was wearing, and the way not a single strand of her hair was out of place. Her hair caught the light and glistened soft, dark brown. But suddenly, her fingers fell from the keys and everyone fell from trance. She collected her folder from the piano and stood. Isabelle, Alec and Liam began to clap when she whispered in a manner that made Jace shiver, "Come out Mr Herondale." Her eyes were fixed on Jace's. How, Jace thought, did she know he was there? Jace stepped into the light. "I think it's time you played us a piece too."

"How did you know I play?" said Jace bluntly.

"Your fingers. Like a pianist's. And you have that edge that all of us have."Jace reluctantly walked to piano, Aria collapsed into an armchair and waited. The piano beckoned him. He couldn't. Last time he'd played was for Clary. He remembered the love in her emerald eyes as she watched him. But Jace knew he had to let go, so he sat as Aria had, and played. The trills and octaves consumed him and whispered to him of a simpler time. Crescendos and tempo, how he missed the sharps and flats. The crotchets, the minims, the rests and time signatures. And when he hit the last note, there was not a single clap. Not a single voice. Silence.

 **Again, I don't own the mortal instruments (ect, ect) please review and look at Tris's story on our profile, she would love it if you could read it ;-)**


	5. Chapter 5

Aria stared at Jace, her breath on the cusp of release. Jace stared down at his quailing fingers. His eyes were full of water and regret. Aria stood and whispered into his golden hair, "You have to let her go." Jace jerked his head and Aria was still staring intently at him. A piece of hair fell onto her forehead, softening the blow of her sharp ponytail. "She's gone, let her go. Don't dishonour her memory by letting her stay a phantom. I'm sure if she was here she wouldn't be happy about you losing yourself like this. Let her stay real, I'm not telling you to forget her. No, I am not. I am telling you to remember her as a good memory, not a sad memory. Don't kill yourself over her."

Jace narrowed his eyebrows at her. "What do you know! WHAT DO YOU KNOW? YOU DON'T SEEM THE LEAST BIT CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR MOTHER! LET ME ASK YOU, LITTLE GIRL. DO YOU CARE ABOUT THE ONES YOU LOVE? DO YOU? YOU PUSH YOUR LITTLE BROTHER AWAY WHEN HE MOST NEEDS YOU AND YOU THINK IT'S OKAY TO PATRONISE ME. WELL THAT'S A BIT HYPOCRITICAL DON'T YOU THINK?!"

Aria flushed deep red, her eyes like burning coals. Her fists tightened and her lips clamped together. "I don't think," she said lowly, "you know shit of what you are saying. Tread carefully Jace."

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN I DON'T KNOW SHIT?" Jace yelled, outraged.

Aria shoved his chest, it was quite comical to see this reeled up girl against this man. Isabelle was smiling at the girl for holding her own, Alec was on the verge of pinning Jace to the ground and Liam was watching with interest.

"I HAVE HAD ENOUGH! YOU HAVE NO FUCKING IDEA WHAT I HAVE BEEN THROUGH!" Jace's eyes were wide with annoyance. "Oh, is that so Miss Bloodrose? Then why are you like a closed book, huh?"

Aria mouth opened and every single thing she had ever wanted to say in the last day, oozed from it. "How, dare, you? HOW DARE YOU? HOW DO YOU THINK I FELT WHEN MY MOTHER WAS SLOWLY DYING? HOW? THAT'S RIGHT, JACE! I HAVE FEELINGS! WHEN EVERYTHING CHANGED IN MY LIFE? CAN'T YOU ALL TELL THAT SOMETHING HAS HAPPENED IN MY PAST? WHEN MY BROTHER ASKED TO SLEEP IN THE SAME ROOM AS ME, I WASN'T BEING UNKIND! I WAS BEING MORE PROTECTIVE THAN I WOULD HAVE BEEN IF I HAD STAYED WITH HIM! MAKING SURE HE COULD TAKE CARE OF HIMSELF BECAUSE I REALISED BABYING HIM WOULD NOT TOUGHEN HIM UP! ISN'T THAT HOW YOU TREATED CLARY? PUSHING HER AWAY SO THAT SHE WOULDN'T HURT HERSELF FALLING IN LOVE WITH YOU? WEREN'T YOU A CLOSED BOOK WITH CLARY? DON'T THEY SAY, 'TO LOVE IS TO DESTROY?' THINK WITH YOUR BRAIN, YOU IDIOT! THINK!"

At that everyone but Liam stared open mouthed at the burning spitfire in front of them. And with that, Maryse came from the study to see what all the fuss was about.

Jace had never seen someone get that angry, to argue that efficiently, and to know that much about himself. Aria stared at him, enraged and pushed past Maryse. Maryse walked up to Jace, eyeing Liam. "Congratulations on the completion of your assignment. I really hoped to talk with Miss Bloodrose about her amazing feat. I'd go up to her right now, but she seems very angry. What did you do Jace?"

"Nothing," said Jace, his head spinning. She knew way to much. 'To love is to destroy.'

Maryse turned to Liam, "Welcome Liam. I hope your stay will be comfortable. Do notify us when you need something. Jace, Alec, Isabelle, we have been notified that Keely Silverstaff is living at Sivetta Street. Please take her to the Institute by Thursday. I have been informed that Miss Bloodstone is friends with her, but is unaware they are cousins."

She spun on her heel and walked out.

"Wow. That was intense," remarked Isabelle.

"I know," said Jace nonchalantly. "Maryse looked very unpleased with me."

Isabelle folded her arms and shook her head and picked up Church who scratched her and escaped from her grip.

Once they left the room, she jumped to the floor. Pulling under the loose floorboard, she pulled out the silver staff with the emerald adorning its knob. Engraved on the side, was the name 'Silverstaff'. Kelly Brown shook her head as she read through the list of names below the 'Silverstaff'. 'Olivia, Frederick, Derrick, Sylvester, Diana, Amanda, Sarah, Harris, Jordan, Kelly.' Then she felt her fingers connect with a small latch. She opened it and out came a silver ring. The band was plain except for little vines spelling out Silverstaff. There it was again. It looked a bit like an heirloom. She vowed to ask her parents about it and crawled quickly back into bed when she heard footsteps.

 **I don't own anything more than Aria, Kelly, a few more characters and the plot :-( Aria would love it if you could review, it would make her day! Also, please tell me what you think of my story!**


	6. Chapter 6

When the knock came, Aria was prepared. The knife was ready. When she didn't answer, the intruder stepped through the door. The knife flew from her hands, airborne. The knife lodged itself into the door frame, centimetres from Jace's face. Jace began to step into the room before the second one came and Jace ducked just in time. "Out." Jace shook his head. "I get the feeling you are not here to apologise. Out." Aria's face was buried in a book, her eyes not glancing up once.

"It's important!" Jace exclaimed.

"And so are my feelings. Which I have made clear to you. Especially when it comes to people who come into my room against my wishes."

"It's not technically your room.."

"Well whose fault is that? And this part of the building may not be owned by me, but it is MY personal area." Jace, grateful for a small amount of time to wedge his words in, said,

"Kelly. Do you know a Kelly." Aria uneasily nodded her head. "Then you should know that she is a Nephilim." Aria snapped her book shut.

"Kelly? Kelly Brown?" Aria repeated.

"No. Kelly Silverstaff. Brown is probably her foster parents' last name" Aria seemed to think about it for a moment. She bowed her head as if she had decided something. With lightning speed, she picked up another knife and threw it at Jace. It nicked his shirt, creating a small hole.

"What's your problem?" Jace yelled.

"YOU!" Aria screamed back. She leapt forward and shut the door in his face. She let go of a breath and walked into the bathroom to shower. The warm water trickled through her hair and down her back. There was a knock at the door of the bathroom. "If you come in, I swear I'll break your face!"

"Then you better open up the door!" Jace shouted over the rushing water. Aria growled and shut off the tap. She wrapped herself up in a white towel, hating to feel so revealed.

"Whoever decided not to install locks on these bathroom doors deserves to die," she muttered as she opened the door. Jace raked her body up and down. "What? What do you want? Stop staring you asshole!"

Jace was bewildered by the shiny sheen of water coating her body. Water clung to her long, thick eyelashes and her hair was wet and dripping. Pink flushed her prominent cheekbones. First, Jace thought she was blushing, but there was a flicker of a flame in her eyes. "Out! Out, you voyeuristic retard!" Jace huffed and began to talk.

"No. We need to find Kelly. And we need you to come and convince her we are not kidnappers." Aria paused.

"Tomorrow. We'll go tomorrow," she said finally and stalked back into the bathroom. It was a good enough answer and he left.


	7. Chapter 7

Aria was ready. Jeans, check. Badass leather jacket, check. Hair in a ponytail, check. Sapphire-diamond ring, check. Aviators, check. Gloves, check. Boots, check. Knives in belt, check. Finally, she decided to add a thick coating if red lipstick to give her a reason to smile. She opened the window wide, and jumped onto the grass outside. In the yard, was a black motorcycle. Aria smiled and clasped one of the helmets over a silver rod attached to the seat. The other, she wore. She pulled up the stand with her foot and dragged it around the block, where no one would see or hear her. She then flicked her leg over the seat and turned on the ignition with the key around her neck. From the moment she saw the key, she knew what it was. Pressing the accelerator with her thumb, the bike lurched and surged forward. Her hair flapped in the wind, her gloves gripped the handles.

After ten minutes, she took a right turn onto Sivetta street. She parked the cycle outside Kelly's house. In her peripheral vision, she saw a 18 year old boy gazing in awe at her motorcycle. She grasped her helmet and yanked it off. The boy's eyes flicked to her, his mouth dropped open. She winked at him teasingly, and he shut the curtains quickly in embarrassment. Aria turned her focus back to Kelly's house just in time to see a girl running at top speed onto the road.

Her hair was light brown and blowing in the wind. Her brown eyes were filled with panic. And in her hand, was a silver sceptre looking thing and a duffel bag. Aria approached her warily and when Kelly caught sight of her she yelped. She caught Aria's arms and said, "Run. Run far. There's something in there." Aria looked at her with sang-froid and said gently,

"I know, Kelly Silverstaff." Kelly's head snapped towards her.

"WHAT? I saw my name on here and I...am I adopted?" she asked. Aria hung her head and nodded glumly.

"You are Nephilim. You are Nephilim. Half- angel, half-human. I need to take you away from the demon. But I need to kill it too. No time to explain. Hide behind the motorcycle." Aria instructed. Kelly looked like she was going to disagree, but she walked towards the motorcycle.

"Last I saw, it was in my bedroom." Aria nodded and pulled out one of the knives from her belt. Aria ran to the house and flung open the door. She knew Kelly's family was on holiday, but Kelly had had to stay for exams. The inside of Kelly's house was wrecked. Glass and porcelain were smashed across the ground, cupboards left open. Water and sickly sweet smelling white paste trailed across the kitchen tiles and into the hall. Aria pulled a piece of glass from the ground and dropped it into the paste where it sizzled the glass like acid. The glass was glass no more. Careful not to touch the paste, she walked next to it where it lead to Kelly's bedroom. Kelly's bedspread was strewn onto the ground with what looked like haste. Her dressers were open and empty, save for a couple of socks. In the corner was a trapdoor, with an open case in it that looked as if the sceptre she was holding could have fit snuggly into it. And most unmissable was the winged white creature that looked like a bit of a bird. As she stared at it in shock, it pooped on Kelly's desk and flew towards Aria with a shriek. It raked its claws along Aria's neck, leaving a deep mark on it. Aria stabbed the knife directly at it and it jumped back, but not before it entered its abdomen.

Turning wildly to charge back at Aria with open claws, she hacked of its head and ran out. She clutched her neck wound, which was bleeding wildly and cursed herself for not bringing bandages. She walked out of the front door and waved Kelly over. "You got any Band-Aids?" Kelly eyed her wound and nodded mutely. Kelly stepped into the kitchen carefully and opened one of the draws to pull out a bottle of antiseptic and a box of large Band-Aids. She got out a piece of cotton wool and began to dab at the marks on Aria's neck. Aria sucked in her breath harshly and clenched her fists. Kelly put Band-Aids on her neck and they walked back outside. "You know how to drive a motorcycle?" Kelly shook her head. "What?!"

"I can try! You are not even allowed to drive in a car yet, let alone drive a motorcycle on your own. Let me have a go? How do you even know how to drive?" Kelly argued. Aria shook her head insistently.

"I would drive my grandfather's motorcycle around our acreage. I love these things." Aria handed Kelly a helmet and hopped onto it. Kelly hesitantly sat behind her and asked,

"Where do I put my hands?" Aria rolled her eyes and gestured around her waist. Kelly hugged Aria's back and she zoomed off.

When they reached the institute, Aria was feeling woozy. Kelly claimed the motorcycle ride had made her feel ill, but Aria was used to it by now. So she ignored it. She walked into the Institute and Isabelle came running towards them. "You're back! Where were you? Oh," Isabelle looked at Kelly, "You are going to die. I'm serious. Someone will murder you. Mundanes aren't allowed in here." Aria opened her mouth, about to say something, when Alec and Jace walked in. Jace stared at Keely and then at Aria and Alec ran to Aria and grasped her arms .

"Aria! Thank the Angel you are back! The Clave has accused you of killing your moth...," Alec broke off. "WHY DID YOU BRING A BLOODY MUNDIE INTO THE INSTITUTE?"

"She's not a Mundane Alec. She's your assignment," Aria said, beads of sweat running down her forehead. "Oh, God. I'm feeling really sick." Aria ran out of the room. Kelly stood awkwardly in the hall, the inched towards the door Aria had just ran through. When Kelly's eyes met Jace's, their eyes locked. Kelly flushed rouge, and power-walked after Aria.


	8. Chapter 8

**Helloo, everyone! This is June again! Thank you so much for your support and this chapter is my personal favourite! :) I don't own The Mortal Instruments, otherwise I would probably turn these chapters into books. Please review, I love reviews and it helps me improve my writing skills. And it makes me smile when I get them and they only take a few seconds to write one. A special thanks to angelcarstairs for their continued support. Enjoy.**

When Aria reached the training room, she knew she had taken the wrong turn. Aria's ears perked up when she heard her name being called. She scrambled up one of the hanging ropes in the middle of the room and leapt onto the platform, making sure the shadows consumed her. Kelly wandered into the room, "Aria! Aria, I need to talk to you! You owe me an explanation!" Aria rolled her eyes. "Aria?" Kelly walked out of the training room and Aria let out a small breath. Scrambling back down the rope, Aria began to target practise. There was a room labeled weapons next to the entrance, and Aria approached it. She rattled a doorknob, but it was locked. Another wave of dizziness washed over Aria as she walked back over the threshold. She put up a finger to the bandaids on her neck, and sure enough, blood came off onto her fingers.

Sitting in a corner, she dabbed at the wound with a tissue. "Going to take a whole lot more than that to stop it from bleeding," said a sarcastic drawl from behind her. "We have some visitors." She glared up at Jace who was holding up a stele. She said nothing as he approached her, but flinched when he touched the stele to her skin. Aria gazed at him watchfully as he traced lines onto her skin. When Jace had finished the iratze, he looked back at her.

"I'm not in the mood for a lecture," Aria said, feeling drained.

"Ok then. We'll talk about something else. How would you describe yourself?" Aria shoot him a glare and remarked,

"Random." Jace raised an eyebrow and waited. Aria threw her hands up in defeat; "Fine! A flame in the dark I guess." Jace signalled for her to expand on her sentence. "I'm intelligent, so I'm bright. I'm hot, which you have most probably noticed. I guess I'm surrounded with darkness. And I'm always visible, always depended on to not disappear. When people get too close to me, I burn them, and when someone puts me out, I go up in smoke. Or maybe a window. Break me and you bleed." When Jace stayed silent, Aria gave him a small smile.

"That," Jace said matter of factly, "Was the most beautiful thing I have ever heard." And Aria smiled with a big grin that lit up her face, and reached her eyes. She shrugged and pulled out the tie from her hair, letting the glossy waves tumble down her shoulders. For Jace, it was the last straw. Jace reached forward, and pulled Aria towards him. He pressed his lips against hers desperately. Aria pulled back a little bit to soften the kiss.

Aria's lips were soft. Oh, so soft. She tasted of chocolate and mint. Her scent wafted into Jace's nose, vanilla and deodorant. When she had pulled back, he thought it was a rejection and desperation welled up in his chest. Then Aria kissed his cheek, his jaw, his throat and back up again before yanking herself out of his arms. Aria was shaking all over, her eyes wide and anxious. She took several steps back, her fingers twirling a sapphire and diamond ring around her finger. "Thank you for helping me with my wound. We better greet our visitors." Jace grabbed her arms.

"What is it I did?" he asked, his eyes solemn. Aria struggled against him.

"Jace, let me go." Jace did not. "It's not your fault. Too much is happening. I don't know you. My dad...my mum...Kelly..Liam. And I've never..."

Jace felt astonished. Aria would never stop surprising him. "You mean you have never been in a relationship?" Aria looked extremely uncomfortable.

"That. And I have never had a kiss before."

"Well if it's any consolation, you are very talented."

"Merci. Toi Aussi."

"Ah. French? How many languages do you speak?" Jace asked.

"Honestly I kind of hoped you didn't know French. French," Aria said, counting them on her fingers, "Turkish, Mandarin, English, a bit of Greek. I can only count in Japanese. You?" They walked out of the training room.

"Ancient Greek, Latin, French, Spanish, Romanian, Italian just to name a few. You are Turkish?"

Aria nodded slowly. She twirled her sapphire-diamond ring around her finger.

"Latin, huh? Atque in perpetuum, frater. Ave atque vale." Jace swirled around.

"Yes, that Latin. I almost forgot. Hold out your hand." Aria held out her hand. Jace placed a slim silver band in her hand, with the initial B. On either side was a rose. "I think you are also a rose. Beautiful, and thorny. You prick people when they get too close. Although your description was much better." They had reached the door. Jace could hear the catch in her breath. When he pushed in the door, she put out a hand to stop him and quickly pecked him on the cheek. When Jace turned to look at her face, it was expressionless.

He attempted opening the door again. Inside was Isabelle, Alec, Simon Lewis and Magnus Bane. It had been hard in the beginning to be around Simon since Clary died. He glanced at Aria again, and her face had darkened. Magnus was the first to notice them. "Well hello. Won't you introduce us?"

Aria's eyes had suddenly widened. Her face grew a deep red, her eyes again like burning coals. "Magnus Bane."

It had been ages. She had not expected to see Magnus ever again. He chuckled at her. "Oh Ezekiel. How long has it been? Six years?" Everyone's eyes were on Aria.

"Ezekiel," Isabelle echoed. "Is that your real name?" Aria risked a quick look at Jace, whose face had hardened. Kelly burst into the room.

"Aria! Where in God's name have you been?" Kelly said, enraged.

"One idiot at a time please," Aria said, her skin tone going back to normal, no longer red. "Relax, Ezekiel is his nickname for me. Kelly, I was hiding in the Training room." Kelly stared, wonderstruck at the atmosphere of the room. A dark eyed boy, looking a little awkward extended his hand,

"Simon Lewis. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Aria's eyes flicked to him, annoyed. She shook his hand stiffly.

"Aria Te-Bloodrose. Not," she said pausing to glare at Magnus, "Ezekiel. If you call me that again, I'll skin you alive." Jace coughed and muttered something like, window. Aria ignored him.

"I shall speak to Ezaria in private." Aria punched him in the arm. Magnus faked doubling up with pain. Magnus hissed in Aria's ear when everyone began to talk, "And when do you plan to tell them?"

"Never," she dead-panned. Magnus gave her a disapproving look. "Ugh. They'll act all weird around me if they knew."

"Yes, but it isn't right for you to keep it from them." Magnus announced. Everyone ceased talking and stared at Magnus.

"Maybe next year," Aria said, but seeing the look on Magnus's face said, "Or tomorrow." Magnus drew back, pleased.

"I'l visit tomorrow to make sure." Aria nodded glumly.

"It just doesn't feel right to know so much about people. When I slip up and say something they never told me, they get scared and get all defensive." Magnus nodded understandingly. "Will it pass?"

"Your passing fancy for Jace, the dreams about Clary or the mind-reading powers?"

Aria stared at him angrily.

"The last two. I had to ask Alec about Clary to make sure and to have a source of information other than my problem."

"The mind-reading, no. The dreams I think are messages."

"Messages from whom?" asked Aria, her mind reeling.

"Angels."


	9. Chapter 9

Magnus left much to Aria's relief, but there were the Lightwoods to face. The Lightwoods' father Robert and mother Maryse, Alec, Isabelle, Simon (Who appeared to also live at the Institute), Jace and Church, the Institute cat that had summoned Kelly and Aria to the library. Kelly had gasped at the vast shelves and volumes loaded onto the walls. "Wow," she had said, "there are enough books to last a life time." To which Aria had rolled her eyes.

"Nice to meet you, Aria," Robert Lightwood said stiffly. "I am Robert Lightwood, the Inquisitor. I see you have assisted us greatly in finding Kelly Silverstaff. Thank you for that. But you have been accused for the death of Juno Bloodrose." Aria's head shot up, and she flicked back all her hair into Kelly's face leaving her spluttering

Aria's voice had reached scary calm and quiet. "My mum. Is. Dead. Anne?" Robert raised an eyebrow.

"You're Turkish? And no one notified you?" Robert said blankly and without feeling. Aria looked accusingly at Jace, Alec and Isabelle.

"Well," Isabelle mumbled, "we fought about who should tell you and we couldn't decide..." Aria's jaw tightened and her fists clenched and arms folded into her chest.

"And?" she said, ignoring Isabelle.

"And you have been accused of murder. They thought that perhaps you scooped up some of the purple powder from the Provajab and fed it to her. They want to put you under the Mortal Sword." Aria unravelled her arms and put them on her hips.

"And? Where is their proof? Did they find traces of it in her stomach? My blade in her chest? My name written in blood?" Robert Lightwood shrugged.

"When there are no suspects, they don't want to believe there is a bigger enemy. Provajabs are fairly smart demons and they don't attack for no reason, even for their own revenge. That may be only a percentage of their motive. They always have a leader. And so, they assumed you had the demon come to your house for fun and scare your mother. You are able to use a knife!" Jace said.

"I had nothing against my mother. We were on good terms. I loved her. This is a dumb problem and the Clave is full of shit and dumb-asses. I didn't kill her. I'll tell the truth under the Mortal Sword," Aria hissed cruelly.

Jace began to intervene when Aria cut him off. "And you three! You had no right to keep that from me. I HATE this. I was having a lovely time before my house was ransacked by a demon. And then you have an assignment which I complete for you and I think you might be just a little grateful. But nooooo, you had to get all up in my face, so now I'm getting up in yours."

All of them stared at her. "And," said Robert Lightwood coolly, "we have not been able to locate your father. He appears to have run away. And it appears to run in the family because Liam is hiding in the Institute and we are unable to find him."

"Fat lot of use you are. OK! Here's what'll happen. I will tell the truth under the bloody Mortal Sword and you will let Kelly stay until we can tell her foster parents. You will continue searching for my father and I will find my brother." Aria huffed. "And you thought I was difficult."

To that Robert laughed softly. "Jace was a lot worse than you." Twisting around hastily, Aria left the library. Everyone stared at each other. Then Aria came back into the room, grasping the arm of her little brother.

Aria ran up the stairs, Jace could hear her. Robert turned to him. "Jace, could you please console her. Or even just watch over her to make sure she doesn't hurt herself. She may look tough but she is under a lot of stress."

Alec whispered to Jace, "I can do it for you if you like. I'll just cancel my plans with Magnus." Jace shook his head, his golden hair falling over his face. Isabelle approached him.

"If its any consolation to you," she said, a smile on her face, "she likes you too." Jace put a hand up to her face.

"Oh Isabelle, if only you understood. That is no consolation at all." Then Jace traced an invisibility rune on top of his ulna.

Aria was pulling off her silk black top when a knock pounded her door. She quickly put a black robe over her self and opened it, ready to yell at the person on the other side. But the hall was empty and Aria leaned against the open door, her face in her hands. When a flush of wind blew her face she shut the door, trying to keep the heat in the room. Slowly, she took her robe off again. Quickly, she changed into her Hulk pyjamas, not taking off her bra because she wasn't sure if her room was bugged. What a long day, she thought. She had gone to Kelly's house, kissed Jace, seen Magnus and learnt that her mother had died, ignoring the fact she had been accused of murder by a society she didn't even know about four days ago.

Aria approached the vanity and opened one of the drawers, when someone else's thoughts flushed into her head. Aria stopped, shocked from the electricity in the air. Aria huffed and relaxed her muscles, reaching into the drawer and plucking her sketchbook out. Smoothing out the page she flicked it to, she heard Jace's thoughts spiral into her head. She's better than Clary. Aria let out a laugh and responded without thinking. "Hell yeah I am." She heard an intake of breath and traced the outline of her mother's face. Her fingertips brushed Juno's cheek and hair, smudging the lead to add some more depth. Shaking her head of her own thoughts, she concentrated on pushing away the colliding opinions and scrutinises of the intruder. Hastily, she shook her head and knew no sleep would be had. She quickly flung on a white cotton topped and black leather skirted dress. She put jeans over her skirt and pulled her hair into a quick French twist. Her make up was limited because her mother had never approved of make up on such a young girl and she had nicked a lipstick tube. Aria shimmied into a black trenchcoat which was cool against her heated skin. Fishing her motorcycle key from her dresser top, she could have sworn her shoulder hit something solid. Aria took a shoulder strapped purse, inserting her phone, Swiss army knife and money and weaving her headphone cord through a small hole she had made when she was 10 and had had it caught in the barbed wire.

It had been a cold winters' night and Aria had scrambled back over the gate on the petrol station grounds, the satchel snagging the barbed wire. Aria pulled it free and jumped of the fence. The man had chased her non-stop demanding she slit her own throat as she had spat in his face when he had tried to undo her top. The wind had ripped her face, numbing it. Scratches were on her legs where the strange man had used his talons to shred her skin. The first house she found, she had rapidly pressed the doorbell, but there was not an answer. There was a light shining through the window. "Please!" Aria had said as loud as she could, her throat scraped raw. The man had stepped out of the shadow, his mouth a cruel slit with upturned corners. He approached, "Oh, darling girl. So intelligent. So strong. So serious. So loved. So inexperienced. So beautiful, like an angel. Your skin a deep olive, your dark hair with red glints, your mysterious mahogany eyes that will become seductive with age. You have a part to play with the Shadow World. Come with me and we'll have some fun." Aria had known exactly what he meant by 'fun', she had been well educated for her age in that department. And suddenly, she had found the volume she had been seeking.

"PLEASE!" she had shrieked, multiple houses' lights flickering on. And at that, a hand had seized her blood streaked shirt. The man's expression had become frightened and Aria had suddenly wished she had just ran all the way home. What made this villain scared would be something she could not run from or spit at easily. A flash of glitter had streaked past her face and a soft whisper was blown into her ear.

"Nephilim child." That was the night she met Magnus Bane. The first of two nights she had had talked to him and sought help. The night no one ever knew about. The night she decided never to leave the house again on her own until she was 15. The first night she had dreamt of Clary. The night Aria Tereen became cold and unfeeling. The night Aria Tereen died and her Shadowhunter self emerged. The night she chose to practise with a knife every day and take Martial Arts classes. The night it all changed.


	10. Chapter 10

Aria would have preferred to sleep, but with sleep came Clary, but even so, sleep would not come. The night breeze brushed her neck, or maybe it was Jace's breath. A single ear phone was blaring music into her ears and the other hung free. If Aria was her friend Athena, she would be headed to a nightclub with a fake ID and stilettos. Instead she swung her leg over the motorcycle headed for any place that sold sushi. The remnants of the sun was only a red-pink streak just above the horizon, but the fragment of light was enough to stain her top magenta. The street was lit with lamp posts and the traffic's peak hour had begun. Aria weaved through the cars, not ignoring red lights. Aria swerved into a parking lot, and removed her helmet. 'Tichi's Sushi' was near the end of the street. A boy tapped her shoulder. "You're hot," the boy said, slurring his words. Aria blushed on purpose, used to the attention she got for her beauty. Aria opened her purse, looking up at him through her side fringe.

"You want my number?" Aria asked, feigning being shy. The boy nodded eagerly. She opened her purse a bit more, widening it so the Swiss army knife was in plain view. She pulled out her phone slowly. The boy gaped at her.

"What is that!" the boy yelled. He uneasily moved away from her. She heard Jace chuckle in her mind.

"If you tell anyone," she said carefully and in a deadly tone, "I'll have to kill you." The boy ran into a van full of drunk boys and told them to drive away quickly. Aria chuckled and swung open the door of the sushi place. She ordered hand rolls and went to the bathroom, hoping Jace had the decency to leave her alone. The bathrooms were empty and clean black, incense burning on the sink side. Aria fished her phone from her purse. She tapped Athena's smiling face and the phone began to buzz. Athena picked up immediately.

"ARIA! Where in God's name have you been. The teachers keep saying you're on holiday, and I believed it until I saw you on your motorcycle with Kelly! I've been trying to call you for days!" Aria sighed.

"I can't say. There's like a fictional society and I'm in trouble with them. Not to mention that I'm one of them." Athena was silent. Then a burst of laughter came from the other end of the line.

"Athena! Look I don't have that much time. I can bet you my left arse cheek I'm not meant to tell you. I'm half angel, and so is Kelly. And if you tell anyone, I'll end your life. With my weapon of choice. A knife. Clear?" If Aria had not just dropped a massive bomb on Athena, she would have checked her phone screen to make sure she was still there.

"Oh my God. Your actually serious, aren't you? You're not just wishing you were from a book or something. This is real. Please tell me I'm not being an idiot by believing you." Athena said it in such a way, Aria was glad she had told her best friend. Athena had total faith in her.

"You're not. I've got to go..."

"NO!" Athena yelled. "Can I see you again? You can't just leave!" Aria smiled sadly. It broke her heart to have to cut away the healthy tendrils of normal life. Aria had put in much effort to build up her popularity, she couldn't bear to throw away her hard work.

"Good bye, brah." Aria said, a single tear streaking her cheek. "Wait...can you please come to Tichi's sushi? Well just wait outside of it. But you have to promise to leave immediately!"

"Of course!," she cried, "vodka is coming."

"Thanks, Athena. You always know exactly what I need. But you have to make it seem like we just bumped into each other. But don't be too loud. Be discreet. Not too obvious."

"Why?" Athena said with confusion, a bit of fear mixed with her word.

"I'm being watched."

Jace had his arms folded in front of him, and leant against the wall. Aria was annoying him unconsciously. There was no way he was going into a girl's bathroom. Jace combed his hands through his silky golden hair, thinking of Clary. Was she in heaven? Waiting for him? Would he even go to heaven at all? Was she happy with him being attracted to Aria? Jace felt guilty for kissing her, but it was as if a force had taken ahold of him and forced him onto her. Aria had leaned into the kiss, but had torn away too quickly for Jace to know if she liked him too. Maybe she was just curious about kissing and how it felt. The door of the bathroom was flung open and out emerged an distraught looking Aria. Her eyes were filled with water, with unshed distress waiting to be unleashed. She was wiping the tears on the sleeve of her trench coat and she was walking fast towards a booth. She slipped in and tilted her head up to the ceiling. "Well?" she said. "Aren't you going to join me?" He whirled around to check who she was talking to. "Jace."

Jace looked at her. Really looked at her. Past her dark hair, brown eyes and tanned skin. The way she moved. But into her soul. It was stressed, tired, trying to be strong, intelligent, manipulative and a feeling Jace was incredibly familiar with. Secrets. The burden was enough to bring the toughest warrior down. But poor Aria was hanging on a thread. And with perfect timing, his invisibility rune ceased to work. He faded back into existence. The person at the desk was busy and the customers were busy. Except for a little girl. The poor girl was tugging her mother's sleeve and alerting her. But her mother just laughed at her and said she had an incredible imagination. Jace had always thought it was unfortunate that children always caught onto supernatural things and were brushed off by their parents. "I guess you knew the whole time. The way you know everything else." Aria didn't even look at him. "You don't have to keep your secrets hidden if they are causing you pain."

"It would cause me more pain to reveal it."

"I thought so once too. But the pain is worth it and fades over time. Does your brother know?" Aria shook her head.

"I'll be right back." Jace held her wrist and shook his head.

"I can't let you do that."

"If you let me go, I'll tell you my secret. You can trust me. I am the ultimate secret keeper. Of my own and others. And I am loyal." Jace let her go. "Follow me and I won't trust you ever again." She leaned forward and whispered into his hair. "Touch me and you burn. Put me out, and I'll go up in smoke. Either that or the flame will catch on your sleeve and you will burn too. And I am a flame. So put some ice in the freezer, purchase your fireproof suit or stop playing with fire because you have to be ready to be burnt." She swung her head around and walked out of the restaurant doors.

Athena came about two minutes later. "What are you wearing?" Aria rolled her eyes. "You're dressing up for someone aren't you?" Aria smiled reluctantly, trying to bite back her grin.

"Perhaps." She handed Aria the bottle of vodka.

"Is that why you want this?" Athena said with a smile. "Someone breaking your heart? Or unavailable? Because, brah, you can win them over with your charisma and angelic looks."

Aria's smile faded.

"My mom," she said, opening the bottle of vodka with her Swiss Army knife, "is dead." Athena froze, and touched Aria's arm as if unsure how to talk to Aria.

"I'm so sorry. What happened?" Aria took a swig from the vodka bottle.

"I'm not ready to talk about it." Aria opened the door when Athena stopped the door with her foot.

"Nuh uh. More info. At least tell me when I'll see you again. You need... wow. Who is THAT?!" Aria followed Athena's finger to a blonde boy dressed in a loose black top and jeans.

"He's HOT. Go get yourself a piece of that." Aria ignored her and when to push the door open again. "That's him isn't it? The heartbreaker?"

Aria shook her head. "More like the heartbroken. His girlfriend died and I don't know how to deal. So he's following me around with puppy dog eyes and I'm afraid I'll break his heart again. He doesn't deserve me. I'm too moody." Athena shook her head.

"What kind of teenage girl isn't? Wow," Athena said, stealing another glance at him, "you wouldn't mind if I asked him out, right?"

"No, I would. You are the ultimate heartbreaker. So no. And he's another half angel. I have to go. I'll call you." Athena let Aria's sleeve go, which Aria didn't even know she was holding, and hugged her.

"Bye," she whispered. Aria took another swig.

"Bye." And let go of her best friend, shutting the door behind her.

Aria walked back to the table, slightly wobbling in her ankle boots. She clutched the glass bottle like it was a security blanket and slid into the booth. The sushi had already arrived at the table and Jace was helping himself. "So," Aria muttered, picking up a hand roll and soy sauce fish.

"Aria, alcohol never fixes anything." Jace looked at her sternly, making her think of her third grade teacher criticising her handwriting.

"But it numbs the pain." Aria poured more of the contents into her mouth, a burning line of fire trickling down her throat. She wasn't sure if Jace was about to take the bottle from her so she tightened her grip on the last gift from her friend. "You know something? This may just be the worst birthday ever." Jace set down his sushi.

"Today is your birthday?" he asked incredulously. Aria sighed and took a bite from her sushi roll.

"Yep. 17."

"Look, Aria. I'm sorry for following you around. I understand I invaded your privacy, but I was told to watch over you to make sure you were okay." Aria's jaw contracted.

"What makes you think I'm going to forgive you. I just lost my mother, my best friend and my brother refuses to talk to me. I'm not exactly in a forgiving mood right now."

"I forgave you immediately when you stole my motorcycle."

"Hey! I didn't know that was yours. And I expect to be forgiven anyway because I'm so irresistible."

"You remind me of me before Clary died. I was arrogant and used humour as a defence mechanism." Aria met his eyes. Her vision turned fuzzy and there was a haze placed over her common sense. She had never been drunk. She had been a very sensible girl, the worst thing she had ever done was swear, and even that had to be done without her parents knowing.

"I guess I should tell you my secret know, huh?" she said in surrender. "Please don't hesitate to cringe away from me when I'm done." Jace made himself comfortable. "When I was 10, I left my house at night, I was being an idiot, to find my earphones that I'd left at a nearby park. I was scared to tell my parents I'd lost them. A man was looking at me in interest for a while, and when I found my earphones, I began to walk back home. But the man followed me for a bit and then he lunged at me and dragged me into an alleyway. I tried to escape, but I couldn't. I soon realised there was no way he could be human. His face was strangely proportioned and a grey too inhuman. He tried to undo my top, and then I realised what he wanted with me. I was informed about that sort of thing. I spat at him, and when he went to wipe it off, I used it as a distraction and ran away. He chased me for 5 minutes and taunted me. I found a petrol station, knowing that they had good cameras but he started to catch up to me there, so I climbed over the fence hoping it was electrified." Aria picked up her satchel showing him the hole.

"This bag snagged the fence, and it created this hole. I jumped from the fence and I ran to the first house I could find. I rang the doorbell, because the lights were on inside. No one answered. I yelled, I begged. Still no answer. My throat was too sore to scream. Then the man appeared from no where. He told me I had a part to play in the Shadow world. The he started saying freaky things about what he'd do with me. So I screamed. Then everyone's lights in their houses started turning on and the door from behind me opened and pulled me inside. The man looked terrified and I passed out. When I woke, Magnus Bane explained everything to me. Who I was, who that man was, what the Shadow World was, but he never told me my last name." Aria stopped talking to take another bite of sushi and to drain her bottle of vodka.

"THAT'S your secret? That only explains how you knew the Shadow World and Magnus," Jace complained.

"I'm not done! Okay. After about a couple of nights, I started getting nightmares. About Clary. Every day I got older, she looked older. She looked frightened and she said only one thing over and over again. I can bet you you can guess what that was." Aria paused. "Your name. I never told my parents or brother, unsure what it all meant. I kept it to myself. But the dreams got more violent. I was barely coping. I was trying incredibly hard to control my emotions during the day. I started to stop sleeping. I got bags under my eyes, and I figured that no sleep wouldn't help matters. That's why you can see in the photos in my room, I look prettier in some photos than in others. And then the worst problem came. Jace, I can read minds. Emotions and thoughts. In the beginning, I kept thinking I imagined it, until people's actions matched their thoughts. I went to Magnus, the route was etched into my head. He helped me control it so I could stop thoughts flooding in and overlapping each other. He invalidated my thoughts of being a warlock, and insisted I was Nephilim. He told me that was all he could do for me and that the dreams of Clary would only fade until I did whoever was sending me the dream's will. I didn't know what that will was, so I just left him. I never saw him again. He called me Ezekiel because the name means 'strengthened by God' and he strongly believed God was making me a warrior. I thought he was nuts, still do." Aria finished, realising she had inserted the mind reading element as no big deal. Jace was not looking at Aria, but at someone behind her.

"Get up," he said roughly. Aria immediately stood up and swirled to face a dragon looking creature with fangs and webbed feet. It was bigger than the Provajab and the white demon at Keely's house. This one was advancing them like a lion, its eyes locked on Jace. "Run." Aria drew the kitchen knife from her ankle boot and left the shop. No one was screaming inside, no one was running out. Then the alcohol kicked in. Jace started running from the store, the demon hot on his heels. The world was swimming and rotating. Aria was well aware of how intoxicated she was, and hid beneath a park bench. Her breath rose up to her nostrils, a thin, strong scent. Jace had killed the demon with a flurry of swishes and stabs from his Seraph blade. "Aria." Somehow he had reached her in such a short amount of time. "Come out."

To her surprise she giggled. "Silly Jacie. Aria likes it here. Aria wants to stay here. Wittle Awia is scared. Wittle Aria is druunnnkkkk. Wittle Awia has weached bweaking point." She giggled again. Jace looked at her calmly, extending a hand, more like an order than an offer. Aria gasped, and pulled herself up. "Massive headache!" He dragged her up to the motorcycle and handed her one of the helmets. Jace placed one over his own head. "Jacie?" Jace looked at her with disappointment. "Jacie, are you mad at me?"

"About what?" Jace asked with hostility.

"Well, Aria isn't sure. Aria was scared that you'd be afraid about her powers. And Aria has never been drunk, so she can't hold her liquor." Aria giggled again.

"Mostly, I'm confused. I already had mixed feelings about you. The powers, I will not tell anyone else. But they don't make me fearful of you. I will be careful what I think in front of you though. I think you should have handled your issues a bit better though. And I'm not happy that you are calling me Jacie." He sat on the motorcycle. Aria jumped on behind him.

"Jaaaccceeeee!" she squealed. Jace didn't answer. "JACCEEEEEE! No shunning! It's not nice!" Jace took a deep breath. "JACE! There is blood on your head! Jace had a fall! Jace needs a ay-raht-zay." Jace touched his forehead, blood coming off on his fingers. He just revved up the engine, his luminous eyes fixed on the horizon. Aria threw her arms over his back, her head against him.


	11. Chapter 11

Jace had barely noticed the rain. The slight spitting. Aria had not said a word, and Jace was glad. He wasn't sure how to deal with a drunk, honest, crazy, mind-reading Aria. Probably why she didn't talk. She knew his wishes and respected them. The night was now black, and the thick mist hung over the city. Jace felt a vibration on his back, and it took him a moment to recognise it as Aria's voice. "Jace, you've passed the exit to the Institute." Jace did a U-turn and drove into the street.

When he parked in the front, Aria hopped off and clutched her trench coat to her chest to keep the cold wind out. Jace briskly passed her and twisted the key into the lock. Jace turned back to Aria, her face serious, shadows beneath her eyes. In her hair were silver spheres of water, glittering and hanging like Christmas baubles. "Stay here," Jace said in a voice that caused something in Aria to shiver. Aria nodded. She was totally sober now. Aria was never to silly for long, no matter how intoxicated. Jace gave her a strange look and left her in the corridor. She slunk back against the wall and slowly slid down. She had just spewed the secret she had guarded with her life for 6 years. It was like the shard of cold glass had been pulled from her heart, and had accidentally struck a nerve in the process. At least she had lied about what Clary had been saying lately to her. Now that, Aria thought, could give him false hope. And put another burden on my back.

A knock pounded the door. Aria yelled to Jace. The person on the other side of the door shouted, "I want my daughter back, you bastards!" The person's voice was unmistakably familiar. Aria's father had returned.

Jace heard Aria yell and dropped the book and ran from the library. He had just flicked to the

page with the subheading, 'Telepathy.' He had scanned the lines, 'Telepathy is an unusual ability, usually given to Nephilim, or in delicate situations, mundanes, by angels. A reason an angel may grant the wish is under capture or torture or if someone is to complete a difficult task ahead of them. Very few cases have been recorded including Keith Lewins, Grant Fredrick and Lienna Ivlash." Aria looked like she had been touched by and angel, her beauty confirmed that.

Aria looked unharmed. Her hair had absorbed much of the water, so it hung from her up-do in clumps. She was getting up from the floor, the vodka bottle still in her hands. Aria opened her mouth as if to speak, then pointed at the door. Suddenly, it swung open, to reveal an angry man with close-cropped black hair and deep brown eyes. He had Aria's skin tone and mouth. The man glanced at Aria and gestured to come outside. "Dad. There's something you probably need to know." Aria's father walked in and looked at Jace pointedly.

"And what," he growled, "did I tell you about boyfriends." Aria laughed to Jace's immediate surprise. "Ah-reeah. Don't giggle. We aren't brainless." Aria's smile dropped from her face.

"Dad. You kind of kept lots from me. And I had already known about those things." Aria's dad, his name Mehmet, Jace remembered from an earlier discussion, looked astonished. His jaw dropped.

"How did you know? We tried so hard to keep the Shadow World from you. It is a dangerous path. Where IS your mother?" Aria's face paled, clearly she hadn't thought he wouldn't have known.

"You can't take away what I AM, Dad. Those 6 years of karate lessons proved that."

"That," Mehmet said gruffly, "was the furthest we let you go. I found your case of knives when I went back to the house. I was annoyed but strangely proud. And Provajab demon powder coated the inner house. Where is your mother? Letting you come here like this is inexcusable and against my wishes. I need a word with her."

"DAD! Mum is dead." Silence. The silence filled the room and it quiet enough for Jace to hear the pounding of his heart.

"Then I guess we do have a lot to talk about," said Mehmet quietly.

"So everyone thinks you killed her?" asked Mehmet. "This is exactly why we kept you away from this!" Aria stared at him with anger. Maryse stood in the corner of the library, looking out the window. Aria wished that Jace had stayed to argue for her, but he had been sent away, much to his dismay. "Look, I'm taking you home. We are going to try to live a normal life!"

"No, Dad. I have to stay! You can't take away what I AM! This is my choice, MY life!"

Mehmet stared at Aria, flames in his eyes.

"You are underage! You are under my care!" Mehmet yelled.

"It is Clave law that even if you retire from being a Shadowhunter, your children are their property," Maryse said quietly. Aria turned to Maryse, who had her eyes fixed on Mehmet. "But," she continued, "if you let her stay for her trial so they can clear her, you both will be left alone."

"Fine," Mehmet spat. "Then you come home. Your mother and I left the Nephilim because ignorance is peaceful, and we wanted that for you and Liam. You did well with studies, we were unaware that you knew of Nephilim. We didn't ask too much about your cold demeanour. You owe us to leave the Shadow World."

"NO!," Aria blared. "MY LIFE, MY RULES!" Mehmet stepped towards his daughter.

"You have been drinking. Again, you are underage."

"We can't keep away from this! Demons will find us! More of us will die! Why would you risk another life?!" Aria yelled hysterically. Mehmet's eyes were alight, and if looks could kill... Maryse pulled her outside.

"Enough," she whispered in Aria's ear. "We all have parental problems. The worst was Cl..."

Aria looked Maryse in the eye.

"Clary." Maryse nodded.

"Are you really intoxicated? You can hold your alcohol pretty well." Aria smiled weakly. "Go to sleep, Aria. Tomorrow is the trial." Aria twisted away from Maryse.

"You used to know my dad, didn't you?" Aria asked, placing a hand on the banister.

"Sleep, Aria."

Jace was waiting for her in her room. He was flipping through her sketch book and Aria felt something clench in her chest. Jace looked up as she shut the door. He studied her watchfully, as if she was going to act silly again. Aria could not meet his eyes, a shaky feeling holding her knees. She took her black pyjamas from beneath her pillow and walked to the bathroom. Aria almost had a heart attack when she saw her reflection. Her lipstick had rubbed away, her French twist had come undone and there was something wild in her eyes. She removed the dress and jeans, until she was only in her underwear. Her back hit the wall, and she slid down, just as she had in the hall. Aria rubbed her eyes, fatigue consuming her. She pulled on her pyjamas, and brushed her teeth. The brush barely got through her knots, and Aria tried to kill time, hoping Jace would not stay to see her like this. She opened the door a crack, and Jace was still sitting in the chair, and his eyes met hers. No turning back, she thought. She walked over to the bed, Jace's eyes never leaving hers.

"The trial is tomorrow," she murmured. "And I have to leave the Institute." Part of her was talking to herself, trying to get it to register. She stood next to the bed, stupidly. Jace was not talking. "And Jace? I didn't tell you everything at the sushi bar. Cl..."

"No." Jace said it with force, something darkening is gold eyes. "Don't pour yourself out to me. You have enough to worry about."

"No, Jace. You need to know. There is a way for Clary to come back." Jace's faced paled. "It's nothing that involved Necromancy or any dark magic. It is a life for a life. When someone is born, they have a partnership with another person who is a month apart. That person can revive the other, since their souls are knit. And it is why Clary haunts my dreams." Aria did not look up at Jace.

"You," Jace said quietly, "have so many secrets." Aria nodded, her body shivering with exhaustion. "Don't consider it, though. Please, Clary would not like that." Aria opened her mouth to speak, when her legs gave way and her knees hit the ground. Jace caught her arms, and gathered her legs into his arms. He gently placed her onto the bed, pulling the blankets over her shivering body. "Goodnight Aria." He planted a kiss on her forehead. He kneeled on the bed next to her.

"Jace. Can you just-" Aria yawned, "lie down?" Jace extended his legs over the bed. She lifted her head sluggishly, and wrapped her arms around him, whilst Jace stroked her hair.

And Aria felt her body relax and her mind going into shut down.


	12. Chapter 12

Jace slowly lifted up Aria's head and placed it on a pillow. He walked from her room, into his own. The textbook he had been reading earlier was on his bed, waiting to be scoured. His own eyelids drooped, his golden hair falling into his eyes. Aria had thrown all his secrets at him in a frenzy, though Jace suspected she still had more. Clary. Clary alive. It was too much to compute, and it would cost Aria's life. To Jace, Clary coming alive again felt unnatural. It was like when the Angel Raziel had revived Jace, but Jace didn't know what the consequences would be. He swept his hand through his hair and flopped back onto his bed. Clary. Clary. Clary.

Aria. Did he love Aria? Troubled Aria? Could he even ask that of her?

Aria's first thought for the horrible day was, Stupid Sun. Every morning it blinded the living daylights out of her, and it controlled the temperature cruelly. It would make Aria shiver by hiding, and sweat when out. Cruel, life giving sun. It wasn't fair that life's existence depended on a ball of fire and gas. And every morning, the second after sunlight scorched her eyelids, the events from the day before flooded back. Aria quickly put on a loose fitting green-olive shirt and black jeans, nothing too eye catching. But when she opened the door Kelly enveloped her in a hug. Aria froze with shock, and when Kelly moved away, her eyes followed her. "Aria, I'm having my memories erased. I don't want this life. I'm sorry." Aria glanced at Kelly, no emotion taking ahold of her.

"Ok. You do that, and let me know if there is room for two." Kelly smiled at her weakly, she had obviously heard the the news. Aria rubbed her eyes and yawned as she strolled through the corridor, and through the brief time she had not been aware of her surroundings, she bumped into a wall. Aria reflexively put out her hands on the wall to steady herself, only to have hands wrapped around her arms. In shock, her head flew up and bumped into Jace's head.

"Oh, God. Sorry!" Aria quickly dodged the arm that came up to touch his face. She quickly took a step away. Jace was wrapped in a towel. He huffed and swerved around her to what she assumed was his room. Wow, Aria thought. Aria swung her hair onto one shoulder and knocked on the door she assumed was Isabelle's. There was pink fluff coming from underneath the door, and there was loud music blasting out of the speakers. Either Alec had taken gay to a whole other level, or this was Isabelle's room. Also, there was a sign on the door that said, 'NO BOYS ALLOWED.' This caused Aria to doubt if this was Isabelle's room and maybe it was Jace's, punishing himself for something dumb, like leaving the toilet seat up.

No one answered the door. "ISABELLE?" Aria yelled over the obscene music. The music was turned off and Isabelle swung the door open. Her eyebrows rocketed up and stepped out of the way for Aria to enter. Aria walked into the room and turned to face Isabelle. "Hi." Isabelle eyed her carefully and said, "What's wrong?" Aria shrugged.

"Why does anything have to be wrong?" Isabelle put her hands on her hips. "Fine. But it is a matter of opinion if this is a problem. I figured that it wouldn't hurt to make some friends." Isabelle strode over to her closet and pulled out a silver-gold whip.

"You have a whip too." Aria raised her head a little higher.

"No. I don't." Isabelle shook her head and walked over to grasp Aria's hand.

"Yes you do," she insisted. Isabelle touched Aria's sapphire-diamond ring. "Patefacio," she whispered. "It means open in Latin." Aria nodded, her eyes fixed on the ring. There was a great vibration and her ring erupted. Somehow, the ring turned into a whip, she grasped it in her hands. The head of the whip was pure sapphire, the rest was silver, studded with diamonds. And out of thin air, a flame was lit and then faded as it hit the ground. Where the fire should have landed was an envelope. It was addressed to Aria, and in very distinct, simple handwriting.

Dearest Aria,

You held onto the ring since you were twelve. And you found Nephilim. But if you are among them now, please know if your father hasn't given you trouble yet, he will. Juno was very insistent you stay with your kind, though your father did not care and eventually won. Aria, you are everything you are meant to be, so don't doubt in yourself. No doubt you have fallen in love already. You can't have thought I didn't notice how the men would stare, and I knew when you found one you fancied, you would be taken by surprise. One final note on the subject, all this time you followed your head not your heart. I loved you for your logic and sense, but you needed to trust those hunches more. Don't mistake me for cheesy, use both your heart and head though. An equal amount of both is better than too much of one. Everyone needs balance. I love you, and I will not be leaving France. Come visit, I know you want to.

-Grandmother

Isabelle was staring at the letter and frowning. "What does it say?" Aria realised the letter had been written in Turkish.

"Oh, sorry. It's Turkish, that's her preferred language. It's just telling me what I already know. That I need to chill. And she's not coming back to New York. Explaining that my mum wanted me to become a Shadowhunter." Isabelle nodded to the whip.

"You know how to use that?" Aria chuckled.

"Nah, I'd figure it out though. Could you teach me, my dad doesn't need to know." Isabelle smiled at her and nodded. "And if I get back in time, I have a formal to go to. Could you help me shop?"

"I live and breathe make overs, yeah sure." Aria hugged Isabelle and glanced at her watch.

"My trial is now, we have to leave."


	13. Chapter 13

Sorry for being away so long, I'm gonna start posting again...

Aria was in front of a swirling, blue, glowing portal. Jace had jumped through, as had Maryse, and Robert had left early that morning. Isabelle and Alec were behind her, encouraging her to jump through, and instructing her to imagine a building, which they had shown her pictures of. Magnus's arms were around Alec and was twirling his hair in his fingers. Aria nodded, sucking her breath into her lungs, and diving. The cold windy, watery feeling shocked her. Bubbles trickled between her fingers. And there was blue light, everywhere. And then Aria dived out at Maryse's feet. Maryse helped her up. And then, Jace looked her dead in the eye, as if trying to get across a message. Her father. His dark gaze was on her. "When does the Clave meeting start?" Mehmet said, growling, his eyes not leaving Aria's.

"5 minutes," Maryse said. A gust of wind threw Aria's hair into a frenzy, and Isabelle was thrown out of the portal, and onto her feet. Half a second later, Alec, and then Magnus. By then, Maryse and Mehmet were talking in hushed tones, Alec and Magnus were whispering and had walked ahead and Isabelle had gestured for Aria to talk to Jace. Aria couldn't help feeling nervous, Jace was walking just behind her. Aria was still embarrassed that she had been stupid and drunk in front of him and that he now knew the majority of her secrets. So she turned and walked over to him.

"Jace?" He glanced down at her.

"Yes?"

Aria drew in a breath. "I'd like to apologise for last night." Jace exhaled.

"For what?"

"For springing the whole 'Clary' thing on you. It's none of my business. And I should have just done it anything, instead of showing off that I could do this wondrous thing. And also, being drunk and stuff. I'm not good at holding my liquor." Jace nodded and stood in front of Aria. The rest of the group was a far way forward. But Isabelle was winking at her. Jace reached down and twined his hands into her hair and crushed his mouth onto hers. Aria gave a little gasp of surprise into his mouth. Her heart was pounding. She was very aware that her dad may catch them, or that anyone might turn around and give a 'WHOOP'!

Jace pulled her closer and Aria wrapped her arms around him. Her eyes closed and Jace slowly pulled away. Jace buried his face into her hair. "Quick, we'll be late."

Alicante took Aria's breath away. The glass towers were glowing white and were emitting light. Jace had told her not to walk next to him, as Mehmet would not be very supportive of their relationship. The gates to the Gard opened, and they all walked through. Maryse separated herself from the group, along with Isabelle. Alec and Magnus took their seats, Jace sat next to Alec and Aria sat beside Magnus. Mehmet plonked himself onto the seat on Aria's left. Her jaw tightened. Her eyes were fixed on the Gard stage. Robert Lightwood was on the stage, along with a lady, whom Magnus explained was the Consul, Jia Penhallow. Aria noticed that not many of the people in the room would be considered hideous. And while the room was settling down, Aria managed to puzzle out why. Angel blood.

The Consul began to speak, explaining the situation at hand and the problems that Aria had solved. "Aria Bloodrose, would you object to being interrogated under the Mortal Sword?" Aria froze at being spoken to directly. Her cheeks slightly flushed, and said, "No, I do not object."

Jia, the Consul, nodded with approval and Robert Lightwood held out a sword. Aria's heart thudded. She rose and walked up to the Gard, standing in front of the Inquisitor and the Consul. The sword was placed in her outstretched hands, and immediately the weight was immense. She bit her lip.

"What is your full name?" the Consul asked.

"Before I knew what I was, my name was Aria Michelle Tereen. My name is now Aria Bloodrose." The weight slightly lessened.

"Did you, or did you not kill the Provajab demon on September the Sixth?"

"I did." The sword's weight did not lessen this time.

"Did you kill your mother with the demon powder?"

"I did not." The assembly exhaled.

"Did you kill your mother?"

"No."

"Did you know what that you were Nephilim before September the Sixth?

" I did."

The Inquisitor frowned. "How?"

"By accident. I was going to retrieve a lost item from a nearby park at night, a man or monster was chasing me. Trying to... to... to hurt or rape me. I escaped, but got lost. I arrived at the door step of a house, but the monster caught up, and taunted me. He told me I had a part to play in the Shadow World. And then.." Aria tried to keep her mouth shut, and pain wreathed around her body.

"Miss Bloodrose, the more you struggle, the more it will hurt," the Consul chided.

"And then Magnus Bane saved me and told me what I was. I went home, and that night I got nightmares from some girl. That I needed to save her in a matter of I was destined to help her."

The Consul's mouth parted. Aria got the feeling she had guessed who this girl was.

"Miss Bloodrose. Will it hurt the Clave if we do not know about this girl and what you need to do to save her?"

"No. I believe them not knowing will save it." Her arms were hurting.

"How old are you, Miss Bloodrose?"

"Seventeen as of last night."

"Miss Bloodrose. Do you wish to return to the mundane world?"

" I do not want to leave the Shadowhunters."

"Is there something you regret as of your stay at the Institute?"

"There are many."

"Name the one that bothers you most." Aria knew what bothered her most. Her arms, legs and chest felt like they were burning. Her heart was burning. Her face was creasing and getting red with the effort of holding the sword and keeping in the truth. Aria looked into the crowd. She saw Jace looking at her with intensity, Alec was frowning, Magnus was smirking and her father, her father's mouth was wide open. Aria screamed. The Mortal Sword was killing her, literally killing her. Jia, wonderful Jia, was yelling at the Inquisitor to take off the sword. Robert shook his head. Tears streamed down her face, the agony was unbearable. She looked through her blurry vision back at Jace, who was standing up now, Alec's eyes were wide, Magnus was still looking impressed but shocked. Mehmet was wading through the crowd, but a couple of Shadowhunters were blocking him from reaching Aria. Her throat was sore, the whole assembly was watching her.

"Falling in love with Jace Herondale."


	14. Chapter 14

Aria almost collapsed. She was still standing, it was a miracle. The room was silent. Jia had stopped yelling at Robert. Mehmet had stopped fighting the security. She did not want to look at Jace. Aria picked up every ounce of strength she had and raced down the Gard steps and to the door. No one went to stop her. Yet. Aria was panting. Her muscles were yelling insults at her, her throat was dry and sore. And then Mehmet came out of the Gard. He pulled her to the Portal. Magnus Bane was with him. He practically threw her in. Aria, thankfully, was thinking of her room in the Institute. Aria immediately packed her things, throwing everything into her suitcases. And it took her 10 minutes to realise that Liam was in her room. He was looking at her mournfully. "Aria? I packed too!" Aria grunted and zipped her suitcase.

"Good, Dad's downstairs."

Her house was still intact. Aria unpacked her bags and went to the dining room table.

"You," Mehmet said to both Liam and Aria, "are not to associate, talk about or acknowledge Shadowhunters. We are living normal lives. And you are going back to school tomorrow." Aria didn't protest. She was just glad her father hadn't brought up Jace. Aria did her homework up in her room, while she chewed on Mars bars. She went to sleep early that night.

The routine for school felt strange and forced. Her uniform was on her bed: navy blue tights, a knee length green and navy checkered skirt, a loose green and white striped shirt. Her hair was pulled into a flawless ponytail, her black shoes were shined and her blazer was black with her emblem on the chest pocket. And a thin layer of red chapstick. Her cereal was eaten quickly, her lunch was packed and she was out of the door by 7:15. A strange, dark figure was on the hood of her car, playing with their phone..

"Isabelle?" Isabelle met her eyes. And Aria looked at the uniform she was wearing. The uniform they were both wearing. "Are you actually coming to my school?!" Isabelle smiled.

"Are there any cute boys? I hope this school is worth my time."

"Isabelle! Public displays of affection are prohibited, the boys don't even have classes with us. You are also dating Simon. And if my dad knew you were here, he'd decapitate me."

"So? We'll just leave real quick. And I'm under Clave orders to watch you."

"What? Oh, crap. What did the Clave say after I left?"

Isabelle eyed her cautiously. "They ignored what you said and discussed how you managed to elude the Mortal Sword's powers for so long. What you did was some kind of record."

Aria opened her car door and Isabelle sat in the passenger seat. This would be an especially interesting day.

Aria pulled up in front of the school grounds. She fetched her school bag from the boot of her car and lead Isabelle through the reception.

"Wow. It's fancy." Aria grimaced and clomped through the locker hallway. Aria stopped in front of locker 276 and twisted her key into her lock. A tap brushed her back and Aria whirl to huff at Isabelle.

But no, this was not Isabelle. Instead she stared into wide bright gold eyes. Jace.


	15. Chapter 15

"What on earth are you doing here?"

Jace shrugged and smiled slyly. A deep scarlet flush burned through Aria's cheeks. Aria whirled back around quickly, so she could let her heart take a break. She slowly unpacked her bag and grabbed her headphones from her bag. "Well, you guys can take a hike or something. I'm just going to wait until my friends get here.."

Thankfully, that very second, Aria's friend Lillian burst through the doors. Lillian ran to Aria, throwing her bags to the ground. "My gosh! Aria, where on earth have you been?!" She enveloped her into a hug and Aria smiled. "Some family emergencies. Mum died." Lillian's jaw dropped and apologised profusely whilst Aria brushed her off.

"Well, I'm sure in the time you were gone you answered your formal proposals. Or at least decided on a date!" When Aria didn't respond or meet Lillian's eye, she punched Aria's shoulder. "Aria! The formal is TONIGHT!" She raised her hands up in defence. "I'll go stag! Athena's going stag, why can't I?"

"Athena would jump at the chance for a date. She even said...whoa." Lillian was looking ahead of Aria. "Who on earth is that gorgeous creature?" Her teeth found her lips and hardened onto them in a guilty plea to get Jace to leave.

"Lillian, meet Jace and Isabelle," Aria grumbled turning around. "They're...friends of mine. They're just new students."

"At the end of the year? It's the last week of school!" Aria shrugged and waited for Lillian to unpack her bag and put her things into her locker. She paid no attention to Jace or Isabelle, who were hanging back near her locker, scanning the area. And again, Aria muttered to herself, "This will be an especially interesting day."

"And that," Mr Sermano drawled, "is why the Mongol Empire was the most successful." The bell rang, right on time. "And Miss Tereen? Your father is waiting down at the office." Aria shot a quick look to Isabelle, who was sitting with Erica, planning a history assignment together.

Athena looked at Aria. "This tragically insipid topic is making my brain numb to the nonexistent bone. But we should get it done over at my house, tomorrow night." Aria batted her away and gathered her folders. She quickly paced to reception only to be stopped by Richie Sterling. "Ariana, darling? You must have made up your mind by now." Aria huffed, trying to pass him.

"I don't have the time and patience for you right now, Richard."

"Hey now, baby! I mean you no harm! I'm just looking for my answer." She tried to nudge by him with her shoulder.

"Answer's no. Wouldn't be caught dead with you." Richie clutched his chest with feigned pain.

"You wound me, Ariana. I been hearing some rumours about you." Aria stopped and glared at him.

"Rumours? What rumours?" Richie laughed, tickling Aria's chin, which she pulled away from with disgust.

"I ain't telling you nothing, Ariana. Just take me back, please. I love you, baby! Just wish you'd go with me tonight."

Aria snorted. "Quit calling me Ariana. NO ONE calls me Ariana! And you don't love me. You want something else. Which I told you I don't want." Richie's pupils dilated, and he reached out and pulled her close.

"You'll willingly give me what I want. You love me too Aria, don't try to hide it. I've been hearing rumours about another guy. A blonde. You're cheating on me, babycakes. I don't appreciate that!" And with a flash, her fist came out, right to his gut. She was only a second faster than Jace, who had his hands twined around Richie's neck. Of course, only Aria could see Jace, so Richie was shrieking at the invisible being cutting off his oxygen intake.

"I was FINE!" Aria yelled and spun on her heel and into the office. The receptionist directed her into the lounge, where Mehmet was sitting, his eyes blazing.

"'NO MORE ASSOCIATION WITH SHADOWHUNTERS!' I said. 'Of course' you said. So six thirty this morning I look out the window and see my daughter getting in the car with a Shadowhunter and in no way resisting."

"DAD! This is my goddamn life! There's a freaking LAW saying I'm legally permitted to train. I'm technically property of the Clave! Even if you gave up being a Shadowhunter, the Clave is permitted to train and care for me."

"The Clave cares for NO ONE! You're too young to make your own choices!"

Aria spat on the ground, and left for her form room dismissal.

Isabelle had walked out with Erica and her friend Claire. Aria bade goodbye to Athena, Charlize, Kelly, Lillian and Nicole, who were all bubbling with excitement for the night ahead. They met at the front of the school, and loaded themselves into the car. "Jace is making his way to the Institute. We have about three hours to shop and an hour to get ready."

Aria drove them to the shopping centre. "Where do we go?" Isabelle dragged Aria to a top designer shop.

"This is Jean-Luclare. You can't go wrong. Just find the one that suits you. They're all one of a kind designs. They make only one of each one, totally unique! Now what are you looking for?"

"Well. Black, for starters, and it can be dark grey, perhaps both. Silky, tight around the waist and hips, flowing end, maybe waved end." Isabelle nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, YES! Dark and dramatic. Same with your makeup and an updo with a few curls hanging loose." Aria was handed several dresses that fit her description, each with different necklines, straps and decorations. "Aria?" Isabelle called into the dressing room.

"Uh huh!" Aria said as she slid into a dress.

"I'm so sorry! I think it might be a little too expensive." Aria sighed.

"Not an issue! How much do you reckon it'll be?" Aria called.

"Four hundred dollars tops?!"

"Eh! My set budget from my mum was a thousand. We have heaps left for hair, makeup, shoes and accessories. So I..."

"So you what?" asked Isabelle. Aria whipped open the curtain. "Wow. I think we've found the one."


	16. Chapter 16

Isabelle had well and truly put something together. Her dress was perfect, her shoes were perfect, her jewellery and hair slides were perfect. There was just a small issue of hair and makeup. Aria had $200 left to spend on those. So Aria and Isabelle entered the salon. "Do you do makeup here too?" Isabelle asked the lady at the counter.

"We can, but it's not on our menu," the lady gestured up towards the board.

"Can we speak to your top formal hairdresser?" Aria asked. The lady nodded and went to a door at the back of the salon. She emerged some time later with a lady with blonde hair flowing to her elbows in large curls, a piercing on her nose and an apron over a leather jacket and sweatpants.

The hairdresser swished her gum around in her mouth.

"You need a makeup artist?" Aria nodded. "For which of you sisters?"

"She's not my sister. But for me." The hairdresser nodded as if she understood a deep issue and looked her up and down.

"Gimme your address, I'll do your hair and makeup for $50. What time you want me to drop by?"

"Around 5:30, thanks." The hairdresser turned around and began to walk away.

"Hang on!" yelled Isabelle. "You don't have her address!"

"I don't need it Miss Lightwood. I know her address. I could walk there in my sleep." And with that, the lady disappeared though the back room. Aria looked at Isabelle, puzzled.

"How on earth did she know us?" Isabelle looked shell shocked and was still gaping and staring at the door the hairdresser had gone through.

"I don't know, but I'm getting a bad feeling about this."

The receptionist was clicking her computer mouse, eyes fixated on the screen, oblivious the events passing by. "Excuse me?" Aria asked. The receptionist looked up. "What was the hairdresser's name?"

"Which hairdresser sweetheart?"

"The one in the backroom?"

"Who, George?"

"No, the blonde woman."

"I'm afraid there's no blonde women working here during this work rotation," the receptionist smiled politely, although her eyes clearly conveyed that she thought Aria was mad. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Jace was still planning to go to the formal. No matter what Isabelle said. She had lectured him right after he'd choked Richie.

"You don't need to go to the formal," Isabelle had said. Jace had rolled his eyes and shined his blades with a cloth.

"It'll just make Aria mad. And I'll be going anyway," Isabelle had declared. "I don't know why Alec wasn't put on the job instead." Jace had puffed out his chest.

"Because I'm better, clearly." Isabelle had shoved him playfully, reminded him,

"Don't go."

Jace walked to the Institute in the pale, yellow street light. The lights ahead of him flickered and moths were flocking it. The deep and profound effect Aria had on him was similar like that of Clary's. The thought of either of them would stay inside his head no matter what he did or how he tried to thwart them.

He was going to that formal. And he was going to talk to Aria.

The dress fit like a glove, tight in all the right places. Aria never liked wearing clothes like this, she got enough attention from boys wearing tracksuits. Her face bore no makeup, and her hair was unadorned and straight. The blonde hairdresser was due to come in five minutes, and Mehmet had left with Liam to watch his soccer match. Aria strode over to her cupboard to retrieve a black trenchcoat, hiding her bust and tiny waist. "Ugh! Alec keeps going on about that damned wedding. By the Angel, he's annoying. And now he's coming to the formal, not that he wanted to, of course. That was all Magnus's doing," Isabelle babbled, striding into the room in a fiery, strapless dress. She dangled a thigh sheath in front of Aria. She nodded gratefully, hitching up the skirt of her dress and strapping it around her thigh."You have your own weapons, but I slid in a few Seraph blades. Are you cold or something? I seriously want to see the dress." Aria was spared answering from a banging, demanding knock on the door.

"Hairdresser," Aria murmured, grabbing her sapphire-diamond ring from the vanity table and sliding knives into her thigh sheath. Isabelle nodded at her, whipping out her seraph blade. They flew down the stairs, their dark hair like banners, shining in the dim lights. Isabelle opened the door, a blade in each hand. Patefacio. The whip glittered, sliding through Aria's pianists' fingers. Her hands were covered in scars, a newly given Voyance rune etched into her right hand. The door was thrown open, the hairdresser carried a few bags of bags with her, a belt with brushes, a comb and a stele, and hair clips were fastened on the top of her apron. "Who are you?" Isabelle said, while Aria had the tip of her knife pressed against the lady's throat.

"Jillian Blackblood. Former, retired Shadowhunter. I went soft and quit. I'm still Nephilim, I'm not a disgrace to the Clave." Aria removed the knife from her throat.

"She's not lying. I can tell." Jillian inhaled, relieved.

And with a skilled manoeuvre, Jillian disarmed Isabelle and pushed her backwards, making her way to the stairs. "Shall we get started?"


	17. Chapter 17

The formal was of no shock to Jace. He'd been to three, all hunting for demons. Silly teenagers sneaking drinks and spiking supposedly 'alcohol free' fruit drinks, oblivious teachers and parents supervising, drug addicts and horny couples hidden in janitor's closets. It didn't strike him as a place Aria would be caught dead at. A slim, short girl with tawny hair and wide hazel eyes clutched his arm, pulling him towards a group of girls. A sparkly green glove grazed his chin, making Jace clench his jaw. A realisation struck him that the girl leading him away was the same girl who had been talking to Aria in the hall that morning. "Are you Aria's friend?" She stopped in front of the circle of girls who were all regarding him adoringly and curiously.

"But of course," she giggled, closing the space between them. "I'm Lillian. This is Charlize," she gestured to the girl with green gloves who had smothered his jaw earlier. "That's Athena," pointing at a thin pretty girl with intelligent blue-grey eyes and tumbling light brown hair, who was regarding him with a mixture of awe, distaste and confusion. "Kelly is over there." Of course, Kelly. The freckled girl, his earlier assignment who wiped her memory willingly. He had been there when she drank the amnesiac potion and her last words had been, Ignorance is bliss. "Nicole," she pointed to another pretty girl with skin the colour of cocoa. "And of course, Phillis." A tall girl with mid-length blonde wavy hair and electric blue eyes. "We're Aria's friends!"

Everyone but Athena rushed to crowd Jace; she hung back with her punch in her hand, swirling her glass and shaking her head. _What_ , Jace mouthed at her. She'd never seen this girl before, but she was as beautiful as Aria. She didn't have the air of sophistication and control like Aria, but she seemed smart and she had a glint in her eye which said she knew things Jace couldn't even imagine. Which was a pretty strong statement, seeing as Athena was a mundane and Jace had seen more than most Shadowhunters. The girls were chattering below him, and he was ignoring them, while Athena mouthed back. _What have you done?_

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw two girls with shockingly dark hair moving through the doorway. Aria saw him only a moment after he saw her. Her eyes were made to look big and dark, not that they weren't already. Her lips were a bold, dark red. Her hair was in a sharp, French twist, with a few curls spilling and dripping from the up-do. And her dress. It was black, with streaks of dark grey twirling around the dress. It was snug and fit around her body, exaggerating her bust and showing off the length of her legs and her tiny waist. A diamond and sapphire hair clip was fit in her hair. A spark of anger was flickering through her eyes, but died down after Isabelle whispered in her ear. Isabelle, who always dressed to impress, was wearing a tiny black dress, showing more bust than usual and a flare of material down one leg, probably hiding a thigh sheath. Most of the gazes in the room were fixed on the dynamic duo. Expecting an outburst from Aria, he almost approached her, but she simply brushed past her, and he felt a blade brush his thigh from her skirt. She stood in front of Jace as all the girls rushed to hug her and shower down compliments on her. Except Athena who shot Jace a look of fury before Aria ran to her a strangled her in a stronger hug than Aria had given anyone else.

Lillian suddenly grabbed his arm again and all the girls 'oohed'. "Sooooo, Aria, babe. Want to introduce us to your boyfriend, or are you going to keep him all to yourself?"

Athena barely had time to whisper "Keep calm and be witty" in Aria's ear before she lunged at Lillian.

"I'll keep him all to myself, thanks." Athena followed Aria's line of vision and saw she was staring at the arm looped around the blond boy's. Jace regarded her best friend curiously, and Aria seemed to notice him looking and shot him a death stare back.

"Lovers' spat?"chuckled Charlize. Aria laughed easily.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist. I actually have no clue who on earth he is. But I just couldn't help playing along." Lillian sputtered, blinking frantically.

"But you said you knew him this morning! Remember? In the hallway?" Lillian trembled with urgent pleading. Aria shook her head.

"No, I never have seen him since this minute. Sorry Lillian!" And Athena spun her around and they flounced to the drink table.

Athena groaned. "Don't mess with Lillian's mind, you know she means well!" Aria huffed, pulling a plastic cup of the stack.

"Yeah well she told the entire school about him! Dick found out!"

"Ah!" Athen nodded, "little Richard discovered and tried to convince you to put little Richard in your little, disgusted pussy." Aria laughed.

"Yes, exactly like tat." Athena laughed this time. They kept exchanging bad sex puns until Richard approached them. And from just beyond him, Jace was watching him warily. A blue eyed boy and a man in a purple suit and golden skin was murmuring to him.

"So you came with no one, eh?" Richard laughed. Aria told him to get lost. "Little spitfire, are we?" Athena, who never raised who voice and got violent, shoved his chest. "

"She told you to get lost, little Richard." His eyes narrowed. He opened his mouth as if to say something, when Isabelle shoved past him.

"Aria." Athena snapped her face towards Isabelle, a pang of jealously bursting through her heart. "My necklace is pulsing." Athena pushed aside her feelings.

"And what does that mean?" Athena asked, no trace of sarcasm or annoyance in her words. Isabelle and Aria locked gazes.

They said the word as one. "Demons."

 **A/N** **I'm SOOO sorry for not posting! I'm planning on completing this story in the next few days so by the end of the week, the Bloodrose will be complete. You should expect about two or three more chapters after this one. Reviews are very welcome! Any sort of encouragement, critique, opinion, correction or suggestion is what I strive for in my account. I can only get better, and the reason I haven't done any other stories is because I don't want to stuff up all my stories at once, and the Bloodrose is only a tester. Kisses! -June Herondale**


	18. Chapter 18

Jace and Alec had gone to scout the front of the building. Isabelle and Aria stayed to guard the people in the formal. Athena was calmer about this than Aria thought she would be. She simply asked Aria for a knife, just in case. Obviously, Aria couldn't give her a Seraph blade, but she gave her a large kitchen knife which she had tucked into her purse. Aria's ears pricked up to a hissing sound. Thoughts of bloodlust flooded her head and she swivelled to a purple, velvet curtain behind her. _Patefacio_. The whip trickled through her fingers just like Isabelle. She manoeuvred it like Isabelle had taught her, so it lifted the curtain. "Back!" Aria hissed at Athena. A tentacle reached out and grabbed Isabelle. Aria flicked her wrist, and her whip flew, wrapping around the tentacle. Her leg moved back, into _Zenkutsu Dachi_ stance. The entire room was in chaos. No doubt they only saw some serial killer. She pulled back with her electrum whip as Isabelle furiously struggled in its grip. It was draining her of strength and her whip couldn't take the tension and snapped back to Aria's feet. The dress was difficult to fight in, so she ripped it off, glad she'd had the insight to wear a sports bra and bike shorts underneath. Black combat boots and a thigh sheath clung to her leg and she discarded her beautiful dress.

"Athena, what do you see?" Aria asked, pulling out a blade. " _Ezekiel_ ".

"I see...a man. He has his arms around Isabelle in a threatening grip."

Aria nodded, thankful that Mist and glamours covered the scene from mundanes. "GO TO JACE AND ALEC!" A girl's shrill screams pierced the frightened people's rushing to get out. "WHAT IS THAT THING?!" Kelly. Aria had forgotten that she still had Sight.

"Athena! Get her out of here NOW!" Athena nodded. The blazing Seraph blade lit up her face. She felt mascara running with her sweat, and brushed it away with the back of her hand. She had no armour, or protection, but neither did Isabelle, who was suffocating in the demon's tentacle. Aria pushed off the punch table and flew with her Seraph blade and injected it into the demon's tentacle. The demon released Isabelle in its pain, black ichor gushing through its cut. She scraped downwards with the knife, and she heard Jace and Alec rushing into the room. Aria landed on the ground, yelling at them to help Isabelle. Magnus rushed through the ajar doors, quickly taking in the situation and fell at Isabelle's side, muttering enchantments. Jace and Alec joined Aria, slashing at the demon, trying to get close to its heart to no prevail. Until, Aria eyed a small gap under a tentacle. The slimy scales grated one another, the pink skin shuddering with pain, yet kept lashing out at them. A tentacle knocked Aria's head as she formulated a plan. Blood gushed from the side of her head. _I have to do this. Before I pass out._

She picked a random blade from her sheath. A small one, a kitchen one. One of the ones she had started the entire adventure with. Aria twirled her blade around, flinging it at the demon. The demon turned in the direction of the knife, and Aria slid under the gap as if trying to make it to home base in a baseball match. A sharp dagger-like pain entered the base of her neck. It was dark, and smelly. The smell reminded her of mildew. But she couldn't linger. She figured she had about 30 seconds of life left, and she wasn't planning on wasting it pondering the questionable smell of a demon. And just like the first demon she killed, she plunged the Seraph Blade into the heart of the demon, and it exploded in a pile of dust around her. She flopped onto the floor, breathing heavily. As the adrenaline wore off, an astounding pain shook her body and a shriek erupted from her throat. Her head pulsed with pain and Jace gathered her in his arms, begging her to hold on while he traced _iratzes_. But in that very moment Aria made a decision. "Magnus." Jace nodded desperately.

"Yes! Magnus can help you." Magnus approached her.

"Ezekiel, my love. I can very well try but..." Aria grunted, irritated.

"No. Don't bother. But I need you to do that thing. You know, Code Word Soul Swap?" Magnus inhaled. He shook his head, glittering falling from his hair and onto Aria. She coughed.

"You can't give up." Isabelle came to just as Athena waltzed in.

"Aria!" Athena ran to her friend, knocking the warlock out of the way. "What's happened to you? WHAT"S HAPPENED?" Aria raised a hand weakly, stroking her face.

"You were destined for greatness, Ath." Athena's eyes trickled with unshed tears. Jace knelt beside her.

"Jace. I was totally wrong. You are MY flame in the dark. I hope this is what you wanted. Alec, I wish I'd gotten to know you better, but every time you see anything to do with the Eiffel Tower, I hope you'll think of me. Isabelle, you were my friend when I needed one. And Magnus. You told the truth when no one else would. You assisted me, you healed me, saved my life and showed me what true fashion was, and as you always reminded me 'totally free of charge.'" Aria coughed, nodding towards Magnus. He flicked his fingers and a blue flame hovered over his hand.

"Aria?!" Mehmet arrived.

Mehmet Bloodrose approached Aria. "What have you done?" He looked accusingly at the Nephilim. "Do you see why I kept her away? Do you see why?"

"Dad. It wasn't their fault. Wasn't...their..." And at that moment, Aria Michelle Bloodrose, sister, pianist, friend and daughter, died.

The Flame In The Dark had been snuffed out.


	19. Epilogue

**_Epilogue_**

Clary woke up as if from a hazy dream. As if emerging from deep, dark shadows. She was tangled in white hospital sheets. Jace was asleep in the chair beside her, shadows lining his eyes. _Aria_. Oh, no. What had this Aria done? Clary had seen visions of this brave girl and had been glad Jace was moving on. And now she was on Earth again.

Another girl, one she'd never seen before, was sitting in a chair opposite Jace. And she was very much awake. She had striking blue-grey eyes and wavy light brown hair to her waist. She was regarding Clary as if she was a science experiment gone wrong, and Clary felt waves of resentment coming from her. "So. It was you Aria gave up her life for." Clary shrank back, creaking the bed and waking Jace from his slumber. Jace looked at Clary, joy etched all over his face and he leaned in to hug her. Clary hugged him back, ecstatic.

"I missed you so much Clary." When Jace pulled back she was surprised to see tears all over his face. Athena did too, but her tears were of anger.

"Really? This girl?"

Jace narrowed his eyes at her. "Aria made this choice."

Athena huffed at him. "Yes," Athena said. "But she made it for YOU. She did this for YOU. She would still be alive if it wasn't for YOU. She loved you, you know. She opened her heart up and you cut it OUT. YOU LET HER DIE!" Jace rubbed his eyes and sighed with exhaustion. It was clear to Clary that they had had this conversation very many times before. Athena sat back down, her face in her hands. Clary hadn't even spoken a word yet and she was already yelled at.

"Athena," Clary said gently. "I never would have chosen for your friend to die. And neither did Jace. What she did was noble, but her life was worth a lot. I've played my part in the world. I lived a fuller life than most. Don't stress. But it was not Jace's fault."

Athena mumbled an ok and left.

"I'm really sorry about Aria, Jace."

"It was her choice, like you said. And she saved all of our lives. I'll never forget her."

"And neither should you try."

And a candle flickered on the table beside Clary. A wavering candle. But hadn't Aria warned Jace?

 _'...I'm surrounded with darkness. And I'm always visible, always depended on to not disappear. When people get too close to me, I burn them, and when someone puts me out, I go up in smoke. Touch me and you burn. Put me out, and I'll go up in smoke. Either that or the flame will catch on your sleeve and you will burn too. And I am a flame. So put some ice in the freezer, purchase your fireproof suit or stop playing with fire because you have to be ready to be burnt.'_


	20. Author's note and acknowledgements

**I'd like to thank my beta and the person I used to share this account with, Tris Herondale, who inspired Kelly. I'd also like to thank my friends for ideas such as RandomFTFangirl202. I apologise that this took a year, A WHOLE YEAR, to complete. Well, precisely 363 days. Also, thanks to my best friend BK who inspired me to create the character Athena. I would thank my parents, but they don't know about this. And frankly, the couldn't care less about my story, but they didn't want me to get an account. Thank you for all the lovely private messages and reviews, I really appreciate it. LOOVVVEEE**

 **}June{**


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